Fatal Attraction
by TheIrishGilmore
Summary: They want to be together, but the consequences could be severe for both. What happens when Charlie and Brax's budding relationship threatens to destroy the world around them, and hurt the people closest to them?
1. Chapter 1

**Fatal Attraction**

_"How do make yourself stop loving someone when you know they're bad for you?". _For most people the answer was obvious, but for Charlie Buckton, the lines were blurred beyond recognition. Every fibre of her being, her deepest morality and her instincts as a cop told her that Darryl Braxton was not someone she should ever be involved with, or even associated with. But something else, something even deeper insider her, burned a desire, a lust, a physical attraction.

The words echoed inside her head over and over again. Like a broken record that refused to stop playing. Charlie had been warned by both her stepmother Morag and Angelo, that to engage in any form of relationship with a Riverboy would damage her personal and professional life beyond repair. The first taste of resentment Charlie was forced to endure was that of her own daughter. Knowing it wouldn't be fair for Ruby to find out second hand she chose to tell her about her love affair before she made any decision to go public.

Unfortunantly, the discussion didn't go as Charlie planned. Her daughter was furious that she had been lied to for so long, but what hurt her the most, was the complete hypocracy of it all. How could her own mother go behind her back with the proclaimed leader of the Riverboys, after kicking up such a fuss about their bad reputation? Charlie was beginning to feel like everytime her still healing relationship with Ruby took one step forward, she found a way to drag it two steps back. It made her confusion turn to doubt and her heartache wasn't just to stop there.

Morag had gladly weighed out the pros and cons of a potential romance with Brax. Informing Charlie that while she would gain a relationship with Brax, she would stand to lose much, much more. Her career, the respect of her collegues, her standing in the community. She also knew that while a few people would eventually come to accept Charlie and Brax as a pair, many more would turn their noses up. One thing she had learned about all too well after a certain other controversial romance.

The list went on and on, the doubts weighed heavily on her mind, and people seemed to be jumping in with their opinions more and more with each passing day. But something inside Charlie didn't care. Something inside her was currently overriding her emotions and irrational thoughts and pushing her into action. That's how Charlie found herself in her car driving towards the Surf Club. It's what compelled her to get to Angelo's restaurant. To push away her doubts and, to see Brax.

Although Charlie was heavily plagued by her own troubles she was also fearfully aware of the consequences this situation posed for Brax. The Riverboys would never accept one of their own being with a police officer. It went against everything they stood for. If they ever found out the truth she was scared of what they would do. Brax was a strong, independant man, but the Riverboys were a brotherhood, a brotherhood who consider each other as family. A unit who looked out for one another, whatever the cause. The worst thing any one of the Riverboys could do, was betray that trust and unity.

The reason this terrified Charlie, was because she and Brax had already been fumbled by a Riverboy. There was only one other Riverboy next to Heath who was Brax's wingman, Brodie. Although Charlie had been told that there was nothing to worry about, that Brodie could be trusted to keep his mouth shut, something didn't feel right. She wanted to trust that Brax could take care of himself, but as clever as he was, he wasn't clever enough to turn the entire, anti cop gang, onto his side. And that worried her. Not just the consequences for herself or Brax, but what it could mean for those closest to both of them.

Pulling up outside the Surf Club, Charlie climbed out of her car and locked it up, unaware she was being watched from a distance. As she walked into the club through the main doors, she could hear the noise of somebody shuffling around upstairs. Knowing she was so close to Brax, Charlie's heart skipped a beat. All she wanted was to be near him. Bounding up the stairs she walked over to the double door entrance and entered the restaurant. Looking up, Brax's eyes fell upon 'his girl'. Turning the chair upside down and placing it on the table, he turned away from what he was doing and walked up to her, taking her into his arms.

Unable to control themselves, they felt the intensity take over as they found themselves kissing passionatly. Brax gently lifted Charlie of the ground as the kiss deepened with passion. Placing her feet back firmly on the floor, Brax gently caressed Charlie's cheek and then placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. It was unusual for him to be so gentle and caring. Normally he was this hard up, business man who let nothing and no one stand in his way. But Charlie Buckton evoked something within in him that brought out this softer side. Suddenly the mood lowered. The conversation they had been putting off had to be done.

"So what are we gonna do?" Brax asked as he leaned against the table looking directly into Charlie's eyes. Gazing down at her fidgeting hands, Charlie let out a soft sign, indicating her indecisiveness. "I honestly don't know", she said feeling deflated as the words left her mouth. Looking agitated Brax rubbed the side of his head with his hands and stood up, letting out a long frustrated grunt. "So what, we just carry on sneaking around, is that it? Cause I don't know about you but it's not exactly what most normal couples call romantic eh?", he replied a little more aggressively than he had intended.

"What and you think I want it to be this way?", Charlie shouted back. "I want to be able to walk along the beach or down the street and hold your hand in public. I want to be able to kiss you whenever and wherever I want. I want to be able to be in a relationship with you without worrying about my collegues questioning my loyalties as a police officer, or worrying about people judging us because they don't think it's right. I want to be able to call you my boyfriend and not have my daughter angry at me and making me feel like the biggest hypocite alive. But I can't. And I don't know how to change that or make it easier", she finished with a tear in her eye.

"Charlie", Brax said as he stood in front of her, cupping her face in the palm of his hands and gazing into her eyes, "The only thing stopping us from having those things is everyone elses opinions. But they don't matter. All that matters here is you and me, and how I feel about you. How we feel about each other eh", he tried to reassure her. "Brax, you, me, us together, the chances of losing everything are too high. I'm a mother, I don't think it's a risk I can afford to take", she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

Looking at Brax, Charlie wanted nothing more than to be with him, to kiss him right there and then, but there was a part of her pulling her back. A part she couldn't ignore. Like Charlie said, she was a mother first and foremost, and until she was sure there were no dangers involved, no animosity surrounding them, she couldn't put herself in such a position. Brax could sense her hesitation, "Charlie look at me, I am not the guy you think I am. That Angelo wants you to believe I am..."

"...No, you're nothing like the rest of us are you Brax?", came a voice from the doorway. Both Charlie and Brax turned startled, only to find Brodie and four other Riverboys approaching them. "Brodes, what are ye doin?", Brax asked, while looking at the angered expression etched across the faces of the other Riverboys as two of them cracked their knuckles and the others clenched their fists. Brodie smirked at him. Finally feeling like, for once, he had the upper hand on Brax. He was the one holding all the cards.

"Well see, since you're always talking about how the Riverboys are a family, how we look out for each other, I decided to fill the rest of the boys in on your little secret affair with good old Sergeant Buckton over there. Sharin's carin' and all that", he said. His grin growing wider and more firm the more worried Brax looked. "Look Brodie, we don't have to do this", Brax tried to reason with him as he sensed Charlie edging closer to his side as she watched the interaction between the two men while also keeping an eye on the other boys who had tagged along.

"Why not? I mean you were the one who taught us about betrayal and how it can damage a brotherhood. So, me and the boys have decided to live by that code and do what's right", Brodie said, anger levels reaching fever pitch. "Brodie, it doesn't have to be like this", Brax said as he placed a protective arm in front of Charlie. Carefully, he took a step towards Brodie who let out a small laugh. When he turned and saw the look on Brax's face, he lost it.

"I WANT TO JAIL FOR YOU!", he shouted. "You planned it all, the drug crop, the money laundering. Everything. But I was the one who took the rap for it. Not you. Me". Charlie turned and looked at Brax. She had wanted to believe that Brax was true to his word. That he wasn't as dodgy as she believed him to be. That he wasn't involved what she had found in the national park that day. But the anger and the venom behind Brodie's words, made the truth plain for her to see. But even though she felt hurt by his deceit, she still feared for his life. She couldn't bear to see anything happen to him. Again she found the lines blurred between right and wrong where Brax was concerned.

"Me and the boys have decided. We're not gonna kill ye. We're not even gonna hurt your missus. But we want you out of the Riverboys, and all it's business", Brodie had a glint in his eye as he spoke. Brax hesitated, looking at the other boys and then back at Brodie, "What are you talking about?", he asked, although he had a general idea of where the conversation was going. Brodie smiled, "You're in charge, I mean you were in charge. You kept track of all the deals, the money, the accounts. You hand it all over and you'll never hear from us again. And you can live happily ever after with your little copper bunk buddy", he explained.

"No!", Brax replied without so much as a second thought. Charlie blanched at what he had said and then finally found her voice, "What? Brax what are you doing? You know these guys, you know what they're capable of", she said, the worry clear in her voice. She turned to look at Brodie who was still smiling. He turned to his mates and they all began sniggering. "See I knew you'd say that. Good ol' Brax, always thinking he's smarter than everyone else. So, I decided to take your approach to the matter. That's why I've taken out some collateral. Ye know in the event that you decide you don't wanna change your mind".

Brodie turned to one of his boys and told him to go retrieve the 'collateral' to give Brax a chance to rethink his answer. Charlie looked at Brax with pleading eyes, wanting him to change his answer. But he was a proud man and he wasn't going to be scared into anything. A couple of minutes later they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. But there was more than one pair. Gazing at the doorway Charlie's heart sank when she saw the two figures standing before her followed closely by one of the Riverboys.

"RUBY!" she shouted as she tried to brush past Brax and run to her daughter, but Brax held her back for fear of Brodie doing something drastic. Standing side by side, Casey and Ruby were bound and gagged and being held back by two of the other boys. Charlie burst into tears when she saw the fear and in her daughters eyes. Brax wanted to kill Brodie there and then for dragging Casey into the whole mess. He struggled to hold Charlie back but he knew he couldn't let her go. Not when things were so risky.

"It's simple Brax. You want these two back, alive and well, give us what we want. Otherwise, we'll make sure you feel as angry and betrayed as we do", Brodie said mockingly. Charlie continued to cry as she realised just exactly the level of the risk Morag had been talking about. Her whole world was standing in front of her in the hands of men who could cause her a great deal of harm and there was nothing she could do about it. Suddenly the saying risking it all for love brought on a whole new meaning. One that petrified her.

"Please, let them go. Let Ruby go. She's diabetic. If she doesn't get her insulin she'll die anyways. Please, just let her go!", Charlie managed through her heart wrenching sobs. Ruby was clearly distressed, her eyes were completely red from crying. She was terrified and she didn't even know why any of this was happening. Brodie looked between Charlie and Ruby and then finally back at Charlie. "Oh don't worry. We want her to suffer through the whole ordeal too. We've got insulin and all that stuff. But ah, you know a couple of those virals could go missing if Brax tries anything funny", he said.

"You've got till the end of the week to get everything in order. DON'T muck us about", Brodie said as he stood toe to toe with Brax. Relishing the feeling of power he held in his hands. With that he turned and walked past the other boys and towards the door. Two of them dragged Casey and Ruby towards the exit. They both strugged against it, Ruby trying to scream for Charlie through the rag bound around her mouth. Her painful cries too much for Charlie to bear.

She tried to go after them, after Ruby, but Brax pulled her back, fearing what they would do if Charlie interferred. She turned in his arms and banged her fists against his chest. Cursing him for not agreeing to hand everything over and getting Casey and Ruby back sooner. Then she broke down. Her arms no longer able to keep trashing against Brax. The pain of seeing her daughter being man handled by thugs too much to bear. Suddenly, not only did she understand the risks she had been warned about, but she was now living them. She couldn't believe just how involved in all this Brax was but at the same time, she couldn't fight how much she loved him. The attraction she had to Brax was no longer a physical attraction. It was a fatal attraction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, sorry it's taken so long to update. Got kind of held up preparing for my trip abroad. Anyways hope you like it and thanks so much for the reviews. It motivates me to keep writing. Anyways can't wait to read your review to this chapter. Thanks.**

The sun was beginning to rise of Summer Bay. A new day was dawning. But for Charlie Buckton, it just felt like the start of a long and painful nightmare that she coudn't wake up from. Brax stood by the door to the open balcony of the restaurant staring out at the ocean. Racking his brain trying desperately to come up with a plan to clear up the mess he now found himself. Turning around, he found Charlie sitting a the centre table. Her head in her hands, sobbing her heart out as she clutched the chain Ruby had given her for her birthday.

Pushing aside his own pain, Brax walked over to the table to comfort the woman he cared so deeply about and sat in a seat next to her. As he reached out to pull her into a hug, she backed up and pushed him away. A look of hurt and betrayal burned in her eyes. "Charlie, please. Don't do this. We'll get them back, I promise!", he said with pleading eyes as he tried to reach for her hand. Charlie looked up at him, tears tracked down along her soft bronze cheek. "Don't! Don't try and comfort me. You lied to me. You looked me in the eye and you LIED to me. You asked me to trust you and I did and now, I could lose my daughter. Because of YOU!" she screamed at him.

Brax's heart ached at the sight of the woman he loved breaking down in front of him. He never meant to hurt her, he never wanted to betray her trust. But he knew if she ever knew the truth that he would lose her. That they would be pushed apart by the fact that they live polar opposite existences. That the people surrounded them would never allow them to live happily ever after. She was a cop who upheld the law. He was a man who had crossed the line on more than one occasion to provide for his family and earn enough money to break away from Mangrove River and start fresh. But he realised now, that if he had stayed on the straight and narrow, rather than breaking the rules, he wouldn't be in the situation he currently found himself. He would never have had to hide parts of his life from Charlie.

Unfortunantly he couldn't go back and undo the choices he had made, the life he had been leading up to now. All he could do was try and change the current circumstances and make things right. As he sat there, rubbing his head in frustration an all too familiar voice cut throught the tension. "You've got some explainin' to do, bro", Heath said, as he stood by the doorway. His anger so clear for all to see. Brax stood up and raised his hand to gesture for Heath to calm down. "Heath now isn't a good time mate".

"DON'T CALL ME MATE! You played me. You played all of us. Just so you could sleep with some cheap tart and save your own skin", he shouted. Brax's calm demeanour changed dramatically when he heard his brother refer to his girlfriend as a 'tart'. "Oi, don't you dare call her that. You don't know what you're talkin' about", he said as he squared off against his own brother. Brax laughed into Brax's face then turned away from his brother. In a split second outburst, he turned and smashed his fist off the side of Brax's face. Sending his older brother crashing into the table opposite where Charlie was sitting. She couldn't bare the hostility anymore. Her emotions getting the better of her, she sent the chair she was sitting on crashing to the ground as she jumped up from her seat and screamed at both Braxton brothers.

"STOP IT! Just stop. I get that you feel betrayed Heath. I do, believe me I do. Brax messed up. But so did I. We never should have lied. But right now the only thing that matters is getting Ruby and Casey back", he said look at a confused Heath as tried to make sense of what he had just been told. "What are talkin' about? What about Case?", he asked as his eyes fell upon his brother who was picking himself off the floor and wiping the blood away from his split lip. Rubbing the blood into fom his hand onto his black t-shirt Brax looked at Heath. "Brodie and the rest of the boys have taken them hostage...", he was cut off by an even more confused Heath, "Wait, hostage? What are you talkin' about? Brodes wouldn't do somethin' like that".

"Well he just did. They boys are keepin them held hostage until I agree to give up everything to them. The money, this place, everthing. If I don't, well, you know what they're capable of", he finished, not wanting to go into gruesome detail in front of Charlie who was already plagued with her own horrible ideas of what they would do to her baby girl. "You know you've messed up big time. If you had just kept it in your pants we wouldn't be in this mess. If anything happens to Case it's on your head", he said. Brax walked to the bar and placed his hands on the counter, his back to Charlie and Heath. He lowered his head as the full extent of what his brother had said sinking in.

"I'm calling Morag", Charlie said as she snapped out of the daze she had been lost. Brax and Heath turned to look at the petite brunette. Heath shaking his, "What? Are you stupid or somethin'? If anyone finds out about this we're cooked", he said pointing towards his older brother as he spoke. Charlie turned and looked at Brax. "I don't have a choice. So you think she won't be suspicious of Ruby's disappearance? She's my stepmother. I have to". They all knew that if Morag found out about everything, that they would be in serious trouble. Morag would never condone allowing someone who broke the law to go free. But they had no other choice. Ruby and Caseys lives depended were at risk. Brax looked at Charlie and nodded at her to make the call. Standing up, she picked up her mobile and dialled Morag's number...

It had been about a half hour since Charlie had called Morag and now they were all sitting around the restaurant awaiting her arrival. "What ah, what did Morag say?" Brax asked trying to break the silence. Charlie looked up from staring at her crossed arms and thought back to the phone conversation she'd had with her stepmother. "Not much, just to stay put and do nothing till she get's here", she said in almost whisper. She wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek. Heath rolled his eyes at his brothers blatenly obvious attempts to get Charlie speaking to him. Just then they were all startled by the harsh tone of someone who had entered the restaurant. "Well you've really done it this time haven't you", Morag said, her eyes piercing into Charlie.

A few minutes later they were all sat around the main table having filled Morag in everything that had gone on the previous night and about the drug crop the Riverboys were harvesting. Morag glared frostily at Brax as he tried to make her believe he never meant for any of this to happen. But with his history of twisting the truth she found it hard to believe a word he said. "Forgive me if I'm not too sympathic to your problems Darryl, but it's the lies you've been spinning that are the reason why you're in this mess in the first place", she said almost snarling at him. Then she turned to Charlie, "And you, you've had some pretty questionable taste in men over the years Charlie but this one really tops the list. How could you be so stupid? To comprimise yourself, your career and now your own daughter".

Charlie looked at Morag, upset that her own stepmother thought she would out her own daughters life at risk and angry for treating Brax like something nasty stepped in. "How dare you think I would put Ruby's life at risk. She means everything to me. You know I would piut her above everything else", she said. Morag glared back at her. "Oh on the contrary Charlie, that's exactly what you've done. You had your suspicions about Brax but you were still happy to continue on sleeping with him in secret because you knew how damaging it would be if you went public. And your were just proven right", she said, putting Charlie firmly on her place. Brax looked at Morag with an angry expression and retaliated. "Hey you have no right to speak to her like that. Charlie is a grown woman she can make her own decisons so why don't you just back off eh", he said trying to defend Charlie's honour. However, undeterred by the attack, Morag fought back, "Yes and she's made a disasterously bad one", she said not breaking eye contact with Brax as she spoke. Then turning to face Charlie she finished "I just hope Ruby and Casey don't pay for it with their lives".

_Ring, ring...ring, ring. _Suddenly they were all pulled out of their heated discussion by the sound of Brax's mobile ringing. Looking at the caller ID he saw Brodie's name flash across the screen. "It's Brodes", he said as he looked at Heath who sat up when his brother sopke. "Well answer it then. And for God's sake put it on loud speaker", Morag yelled impatiently. Pressing the answer button he pressed the options button and then clicked on loudspeaker. "What?", he said. "Aw come on Brax, that's no way to answer the phone to an old friend. As a matter of fact I'm the one who should sound annoyed. See I just had a call from an old friend of ours who told us that you've been keepin' a secret stash of cash around that we weren't supposed to know about. Been squanderin' extra money out of our dope sales and lyin' about the value", he said as Brax tried to come up with an excuse.

"Brodes listen to me, I wasn't takin' that money for myself, I was usin' it as bail money", he tried to explain. Heath watched his brother carefully trying to decipher his body language to find out if he was telling the truth. Then paying close attention to the phone call he listened to the background noises to try and pick up on something that would indicate where Brodie and the boys were. "Listen Brax, you've got two hours to get me that money. If you don't then be prepared to be responsible for unnecessary blood spill", Brodie hung up and the restaurant went silent.

Pacing the floor, Brax looked at the chair in front of him. Picking it up he flung it against the wall, causing it to break in two. The outburst startled Morag and Charlie, but Heath seemed unfazed. "We have to call the police", Morag said. "No! We do that and Ruby and Casey are dead", Brax said, flinching when he realised what he had said upset Charlie. Heath spoke up. "So what are we gonna do then". Brax looked at him, then at Morag. "We get them the money". Morag let out a shocked laugh "Are you stupid. Feeding their wishes is only going to make them more determind to get whatever they can out of. They're not just going to stop there. We have to inform the police for Ruby and Casey's safety". Charlie sat there, her brain working over time trying to decide what was the safest option. But she couldn't. she couldn't think straight. Every time she tried all she could think about was Brodie hurting Ruby and it was too much for her to bear.

"We give them the money, but only after they hand over Casey and Ruby", Brax said more firmly this time. He was going to sort this mess out his way. Afterall, he was the reason they were in this mess in the first place. "All we need to do is find out where Brodis is holdin' them. If we can get there without the boys knowing we're comin' we can hold the upper hand and make the deal", he said as tried to rack his memory for possible places they could be. "I think I know where they are", Heath said as he sat up. Brax turned and looked at him. His eyes pleading for his brother to continue. "When you were talkin' to Brodes I was listenin' to the background noise. I could hear dirt bikes in the distance. They only place we would ride on 'em is in the National Park. If I'm right, then they're hidin' put in the old house nearby where we used to stash the crop to let it dry". Brax thought about it for a minute. Heath was right. It was the only place outside of Summer Bay and Mangrove River that wasn't completely obvious.

"Alright, but we need to get a move on. Heath you come with me. You two stay here incase something happens", Brax said as he and Heath prepared to leave. "NO! I'm coming with you. Ruby's my daughter and I want to make sure they don't lay so much as a hand on her", she said. Looing her in the eye Brax could tell there was no arguing with. He just nodded and acknowledged what she said. "Well if that's the case, I'm going too", Morag said as she stood up grabbing her handbag off the table. With that all four of them left the restaurnat and headed down stairs to Heaths white truck. Once they were all in, they took off to retrieve the money Brax and stashed and then for the National Park...

..._Hanging up the phone Brodie smiled to himself as he realised his plan was working. When he turned around he saw one of the other Riverboys walking towards him. "So what are we gonna wait for the cash or are we just gonna go ahead and do it now?, Pee Wee asked. Brodie looked at his watch then smirked. "Ahh why wait? Let's just get over and done with. Go tell the other boys to get their gear together and get ready", he finished as he made his way upstairs with Steve._

_Walking along the hall he stopped outside the last door on the left and removed the key from his pocket. Unlocking the door, he opened it to find Casey and Ruby sitting on the floor. Looking up Casey spotted Brodie and jumped to his feet, making a dash at him. Ruby tried to get up as quick as she could to stop him but she was fast enough. "Why are you doing this?", he shouted as he tried to lunge for Brodie, but he was held back by Steve. Brodie laughed and looked him straight in the eyes, "Why don't you ask Brax that, whenever you two meet again", he said laughing. _

_Casey struggled against Steve. Finally twisting hismself around he punched Steve and then when he was free, he attacked Brodie. "Case stop it", Ruby screamed, but to no avail. Casey continued to square off to Brodie. Then Steve stood and ran for Casey, grabbing him from behind and holding his arms behind his back. "I'll show you to mess with the big boys. Take him downstairs to the other fella, have them teach him a lesson", Brodie said as he nursed his bruised jaw. As Steve nudged Casey towards the door Ruby tried to run to him to set him free, only to feel the force of Brodie's fist smack her across the face and send her flying against the wall. Knocking her out stine cold._

_With that Brodie went downstairs and found the three of the boys beating Casey until he lost consciousness. Grabbing his stuff he whistled for the boys to gather their things and head outside. Exiting the house some of the boys put their gear down and picked up the beer bottle bombs they had made earlier. Lighting them one by one they threw them at the house throught the windows, upstairs and downstairs, setting the place alight. Stnading back Brodie watched as the house erupted into flames. "Right boys, let's go", he said. With that they all hopped into their cars and trucks and sped off._

_Upstairs, Ruby began to come around. Her cheek throbbed from the hit and then as the smoke began to fill her lungs she began to cough uncontrollably. Looking out the open door onto the landing, Ruby saw the glow of fire coming from downstair. Standing up she called out for Casey, but got no reply. As she walked out of the room she moved along the hallway opening doors one by one trying to locate her boyfriend, only to be met with an overwhelming degree of smoke. Then she reached the last door. When she went to twist the metal doornob to open it, it burned her hand. "Ow", she said as she pulled her sleeves down over her hands so she could twist the doornob._

_"Case", she said as she began choking on the smoke. "Casey are you in there?", she shouted. Then as she finally managed to open the door...bang...an burst flames and debris _exploded out of the room striking Ruby in the eyes and sending her backwards against the wall. Holding her hands up over her eyes Ruby screamed out in agony. She tried to open her eyes but she couldn't. It was too painful. Stretching her hands out in front of her she tried to feel around for the banister so she could hold on to it and make her way to the stairs. Finally reaching it, she felt her way along it until she reached the end and tried to feel out the stairs. Unable to find the first step, Ruby mistimes her movement and topples to down the stairs, landing in an unconscious heap as the flames grew larger and more fierce...

Speeding through the National Park, Heath tries to get to the old house as quickly as possible without crashing. Looking up ahead out the windscreen Brax see's smoke rising up into the sky through the trees. Heath momentarily takes his eyes off the dirt road to look at what has caught Brax's attention. "Is that comin' from where I think it's comin from?", Brax looks at him. Charlie having spotted what they were looking questions them, "Where's it coming from? Brax WHERE IS IT COMING FROM?", she shouts. But he doesn't answer her. "Heath, speed up!", he orderes.

Within minutes they arrive at the scenes of the burnin house. The intensity of the smoke already taking hold outside. Skidding to a stop, they all jump out of the car. "RUBY!" Charlie screams as she makes a run for the burning house. "Charlie NO!" Brax shouts as he runs after her, grabbing her around he waist from behind. Heath tries to see if he can spot anyone through one of the windows and to his dismay he finds Casey in what used to be the living rooom unconscious. "Brax, they're in there", he shouts over at his brother.

"We gotta get them out. You get Case, I'll get Ruby", he orders as Heath holds his arm up around his mouth and enters the burning house. "Charlie stay here I'm gonna go get Ruby. Morag call the paramedics, tell 'em we're up the Old Creek Road, 10 k's south of the National Park, alright hurry", he says tossing her his phone and running into the house. Charlie watches on in horror as Morag makes the call, only to see Heath emerge two seconds later, dragging Casey out of the house, to safety. Holding her breath, Charlie's worry increase when she still see's no sign of Brax or Ruby. Then a figure appears through the smoke and her eyes fall upon Brax carrying Ruby in his arms. Running up to where Charlie is stood, Brax drops to his knees and lays Ruby carefully in the ground. Charlie kneels down beside her daughter and checks for a pulse. Relief sets in when she feels drumming sensation at her pulse point.

"Heath, is Case alright?", Brax asks as he makes his way over to his brothers. "He's gotta pulse but he's been roughed up pretty good", he says as they both notice the cuts, bruises and burns on his body. Turning around Brax see's Charlie kneeling over Ruby stroking her hair. He walks over them. "Is she okay?", he ask placing a hand on Charlie's shoulder. "Look at her eyes Brax", she says as he looks down to see two red and bloodied closed eyes. It didn't look good. But until they received medical attention, they couldn't be sure anything was wrong. With Ruby or Casey.

A couple of hours later and they were all sat in the hospial waiting room. Sid emerged through the doorway in surgical scrubs and made his way over to Brax and Heath. The two boys stood up as he approached them. "Casey's out of surgery. He has a couple of broken ribs, one of them punctured his lung. But other than some cuts and bruises and some minor burns, he should make a full recovery", he said. "Thanks Doc", Brax said shaking Sid's hand. A nurse walked in to show them to Casey's room and they exited the waiting room. As Heath went on ahead, Brax stayed back and listened to Sid through the open door.

"Ruby's eye's were damaged in the fire by some burns and debris, probably most likely from a small explosion of flames of some sort. There's an extensive amount of scaring...", before Sid could finish Charlie cut him off. "Wha...what does that mean?", she asked fearing the answer. Sid looked at her sensing the anxiety. "We can't be one hundred percent certain yet, but there's a big possibility that Ruby may be blind", he finally managed. Allowing what Sid had said to sink in Charlie's heart broke at the thought of her daughter living the rest of her life in complete darkness. "She also broke her leg. It was a clean brake, so it should heal well and she should be back on her feet in no time. I'm sorry Charlie. I know this must be difficult for you to hear. I'll take you down to see her". Brax cursed himself after hearing what Sid had said.

Just then Charlie, Morag and Sid emerged from the room. Watching her walk down the corridor Brax called out, "Charlie...", he said. But he couldn't find the words make things better, Because in that moment. There were none. "Don't, just don't. This your fault Brax", she said and then turned on her heel and continued walking. Brax turned and struck the wall with his fist. His heart breaking as he watched the woman he loved walk out of his life. Arriving at Ruby's hospital room, Charlie entered to find her daughter under sedation. Her eyes were covered bandaged and her leg was incased in a black removeable casing designed to stop her leg from moving. Charlie took one look at her daughter and burst into tears. Taking a hold of Ruby's hand, Charlie rested her head on her daughter's bed, and in that moment she realised, Darryl Braxton had truly turned her world upside down.

**Next Time:**

***Charlie tries to comfort a devastated Ruby after she receives life altering news**

***Sid and the rest of Summer Bay are suspicious about what happened to Ruby and Casey**

***Morag ponders over whether or not to reveal the truth for fear of tarnishing Charlie's career**

***Brax is left out in the cold by the people who mean the most to him**


	3. Chapter 3

The diner was a buzz of noise and activity as the lunch time rush hit its peak hour. Leah and Irene were run off their feet, but as busy as they were with work, they couldn't help but be consumed with worry for Ruby and Casey. Charlie had called Leah the night before to fill her on what had happened to them but kept the majority of the details under wraps knowing it would only raise questions from the rest of the residents of Summer Bay. But more importantly, the police. Leah had told Miles that night and filled Indi and Irene in that morning at work. They were all shell shocked.

As per ususal, Colleen had overheard the whole thing and was now coming up with her own conspiracy theories, while also passing the information on to everyone who walked into the establishment. While on her break, Indi had found time to sit down with Romeo, April, Xavier and Dex, who were all as equally shocked. "Are they gonna be okay?", April asked after everything had been explained to them. Indi shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not sure. I called Dad this morning to see if I could find out how they were. He Just said that they had no life threatening injuries, but that they had a long road to recovery", she said, sighing at how little she knew.

"Well that's something positive in a way I suppose", Romeo said as he placed a comforting hand on Indi's shoulder. They whole gang acknowledged the fact that they knew they're friends were alive and as well as could be, considering the circumstances. Just then they were interrupted by Leah walked over to the table having just gotten off the phone. "Hey guys, I just got off the phone with Charlie and I thought you should know that both Ruby and Casey are awake", she said and smiled when the group all sighed with relief. "I think this calls for some celebratory milkshakes, on the house", she finished. The gang thanked her and then expressed their happiness at the good news. That was until Dex spoke up.

"Hey, does anyone actually know what happened?", he asked as he looked around at everyone. "Duh, they were trapped in a fire. Weren't you listening?", Xavier asked as he playfully slapped him on the arm. Dex gaving him a mocking glare and then made a snide remark about Xavier's sarcasm. "Thank you for that Xavier but that's not what I meant", he said and looked around at the raised eyebrows of his friends all staring at him with confused expressions. "What were Ruby and Casey doing there? How did they get there? It seems a little mysterious if you ask me?", he said as he returned to playing with sugar sachets in front of him. Romeo nodded his head in agreement. "I hate to admit it, but Dex has a point. I mean neither of them have a car and they never mentioned going anywhere together", he said trying to piece together the giant puzzle. Indi looked at him with a slight frown. "What are you saying?", she said as she sat up straight. "I'm saying I don't think this was an accident. I think someone did this to them".

Later that day at the hospital, Brax arrived to see Casey. Deep down he was hoping to bump into Charlie. After yesterday he wasn't even sure she wanted to see him, but he knew they had to talk. They had to sort things through. If not for themselves, then for Casey and Ruby. It wouldn't take long for the rumour mill of Summer Bay to kick into overdrive. And with the Riverboys reputation, it wouldn't be long before the finger of blame starting aiming towards him and his brother. Which meant Charlie's credibility as police officer would also be called into doubt.

Arriving outside his brothers room, he looked in the door to find Casey asleep and their mother sitting by his bedside. When she spotted Brax she stood up and walked over to the door closing it behind her as they stepped out into the corridor. "How's he doin'?", Brax asked as he rubbed his forehead and looked at his mother. She turned her gaze up to her eldest son and in one sift motion, she slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you ask how he is when you're the reason he's lying in that bed in the first place", she said. A look of disgust in her eye as she finally learned the truth about Brax's "business".

She always knew that Brax and Heath were no angels. That they liked to push the boundaries between breaking and obeying the law. But she never thought that they were in this deep. That her own soon was the brains behind it all. What's worse, was the fact that it had caused pain to her youngest son. The one who was different to other sons. Who had the potential to do something more with his life. Even Brax said so. But instead, he had been dragged into the whole mess, against his will. It sickened her.

"Look Mum, Case, he's a tough kid. He'll be fine eh?", he tried to reassure her, but it didn't make her feel any better. She looked at her son and then shook her head in disappointment before turning back towards the door. "I want you to pack your stuff and get out of my house. I want you gone before I get home tonight", she said. With that she opened the door and walked back into the room closing it behind her. Shutting Brax out of her life. "Like I said, if you had kept it in you pants we would've been smooth sailin' it right now. But you had to go and stuff it all up. And not just for yourself but for both of us", Heath said from behind Brax's back.

Turning around to face his younger brother, Brax looked at Heath with a glint of anger in his eye. He had enough on his plate without Heath making snide remarks and hassling him. Heath looked at Brax's healing cut lip and laughed. "You're lucky that's all I gave ye, coz we both know if the rest of the boys get there hands on ye, you'll be a goner and there is no way I'm stickin' my neck on the line for you after what you've done", he said and with that he pushed past Brax and exited the hospital. Brax stood there with his hands on his hips wondering how he had gotten himself in so deep. Knowing he had no one but himself to blame.

Sitting outside Ruby's hospital room, Morag leaned her head back against the wall trying to come up with sort of plan of action. But every road she thought of taking was useless. There was no way they could have Heath, Brax and the rest of the Riverboys arrested without damaging Charlie's career, or worse losing her job. But they couldn't do nothing. Either they came forward themselves and explian what happened and accepted whatever punishment was dished out. Or, they risked the police finding out themselves, which would look much worse for everyone involved. The only innocent parties in all of this were Ruby and Casey, and they were the one's suffering the most. It didn't seem fair. None of it did. But as Morag told Charlie last night, you play with fire and you get burned, literally.

Charlie sat next to Ruby's bed holding her daughter's hand as she slept. The previous night when Ruby had awoken to complete darkness, as her eyes were bandaged, Charlie had to calm her down and explain that her eyes had been damaged in the fire. Panicked, Ruby had tried to remove her bandages only for Sid to come in and sedate her. It broke Charlie's heart to see Ruby in such a state. She had watched her cry with fear as the sedative kicked in her daughter drifted back to sleep. It was possibly one of the worst moments of her life. Next to Ruby being kidnapped and almost killed. But what was worse was today was the day Sid would remove the bandages and determine what path Ruby's life would take.

Tired, but to worried and scared to go to sleep, Charlie was relieved to feel her daughter squeezing her hand as she began to wake up. Sitting up, Charlie placed her hands ontop of Ruby's to stop her from tearing her bandages off again. But this time Ruby didn't even flinch, so Charlie removed her hands. Feeking around the bed for her mother's hand, Charlie reached down to grab a hold of Ruby's and placed a gentle kiss on it. "No matter what, everything's going to be okay. I promise I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere", she said as nodded her head and tightly squeezed her hand back.

"I'm scared Charlie, what if I can't see, what if I'm blind for the rest of my life...", she trailed off. Charlie leaned forward and cupped Ruby's face in the palm of her hand. "Then we'll deal with it. Together. Rubes I love you and no matter what the outcome I will be there to help you through it. Just promise me that you'll talk to me and be honest with me about how you're feeling and I promise I will do whatever I can to make it better or make it easier. Okay?", she said, and Ruby gently nodded her head in agreement. Just then they were interrupted by a knock at the door and Sid entered the room.

"Okay Ruby, it's time we take those bandages off", he said. Ruby nodded and sat up a little straighter in the bed as best she could with her broken leg. Walking over beside her Sid began to unwrap the bandages. Charlie stood back to make room for the doctor to work. Holding her breath as she waited anxiously for him to finish. Within seconds he had the bandage unwrapped and carefully, he began to remove the eye patches. Ruby's eyes were still red and there were a few little tiny scars around both eyes from debris that had been lodged their from the explosion.

"Alright Ruby, I want you to open your eyes slowly and tell me if you see anything", he said as he stood back to make it easier for her to make out people and objects if she could. Slowly and carefully Ruby began to open her eyes. They were still a little sore from the blast but she was determind to do it. At first she squinted, then she opened her eyes more. "I can't...I can't see anything", she said as s he began to get teary. "You can't make anything out or you can't see anything at all?", Sid asked as he tried to get more detail out of the distressed teenager. "No I can't see anything! It's all just black", she said as she broke down in tears.

"Sid", Charlie said almost pleading with him to say it was some sort of a mistake. That it was just going to take some more time to heal. "I'm sorry Charlie. There was an extensive amount of scar tissue. I'm afraid Ruby's blind", he said as gently as he could as he sympathetically placed a hand on her arm. "Charlie", a sobbing Ruby called out as she tried to feel out where her mother was. Walking past Sid, Charlie climbed onto the bed and took her daughter into her arms. Rocking her back and forth as she tried as best she could to comfort her as her own tears began to fall.

Outside the room Morag lowered her head after overhearing everything. Turning around she faced Brax who was planning on talking to Charlie. She walked up to him with a frosty, angry expression etched across her face. "Are you happy now?", she asked and she watched as he lowered his head. There was nothing he could say. "I think you better leave", she said. And with that Brax turned on his heel and made his way out of the hospital. He could feel himself getting choked up. Because of him he had hurt his brother, his family, his secret girlfriends daughter. But most of all he had hurt Charlie. And now he had nowhere to go and nowhere to turn to. Brax's life had been turned upside down.

**Next Time:**

***Charlie and Ruby try to adjust to living with Ruby's disability**

***Brax and Charlie find it hard to avoid each other**

***Casey learns of his brothers deceit and Ruby's condition**

***Romeo, Indi, Xavier, April and Dex try to uncover what really happened, and the truth shocks them**


	4. Chapter 4

Casey slammed his fist down hard on the kitchen table. His mother had just filled him in on everything Brax and Heath had been involved in and he was furious. How could his own brothers have put him at risk like that? Especially Brax. He was the one always looked out for Casey and tried to help him set himself up for a better life. A life outside of the Riverboys. But above all else, he was angry that his own family had cost his girlfriend her sight. It was one thing for him to have been caught up in it all, afterall, Brax and Heath are his brothers, he could predict that someday living in their shadow would catch up on him. But Ruby had done nothing wrong. She didn't deserve to be dragged under.

"How could they do this?", he shouted staring at his mother with an unmistakeable anger burning in his eyes. "How could they put us at risk like that? We did nothing wrong and we're the one's paying for it", he finished rubbing his hands against the side of his head as he tried to calm himself down. Placing a hand on Casey's shoulder, his mother tried to comfort her son to take the edge off. She knew better than anyone than when her sons were rattled up, they were like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. "I don't know. But if you have any sense you will stay well away. Otherwise you'll end up going down the same path as your brothers", she said. Casey took one look at his mother, stood up and walked out of the house.

In the Diner, Charlie sat at the counter waiting on her breakfast order when Irene walked in for her shift. Walking behind the counter, Irene put on her apron and turned to face Charlie. "Hiya Darl, how's Ruby doin'?", a sympathetic look on her face as she thought of the young girl who was like a surrogate daughter to her. Charlie looked down at her hands and sighed. "She's as well as can be expected under the circumstances", she said. Irene nooded understandingly, "Is she still in the hospital?", she asked as she handed Charlie a coffee on the house. "No, they discharged her last night. I brought her home and she went straight to bed. I think she's still in denial about it all", she finished as she thought about how dispondent Ruby had been when they arrived home the previous night.

"Aw poor Darl. It must be real tough on her. Has she started, you know, learnin' how to get about and stuff?", Irene asked crossing her arms and watchin Charlie intently. "Yeah they started on some basics at the hospital. We're going to go through some stuff today, mainly just helping her make her way around the house and making things easier for her to reach or to find", Charlie replied, suddenly saddened when she realised how much of an adjustment Ruby's life would be. "Aw look she'll get through this love. It'll take some gettin' used to but she's a fighter. She'll pick herself back up in no time", Irene said with an enthusiastic grin. Just then, Brax appeared through the main door. He stopped when he spotted Charlie and thought about turning around and leaving but she saw him before he could.

"Hey", he said in a hushed voice. Leah walked out from the kitchen with Charlie's order and stopped in her tracks when she noticed the uneasiness between them. Walking up to the counter she interrupt Charlie from her trance like state. "Um, here's your order", she said handing it over to her housemate. Charlie turned around and picked it up off the counter. Standing up she brushed past Brax as quickly as her legs would take her and left. Leah stood looking at him, waiting to see if he was going to place an order, instead he gazed at her and then exited out the opposite door. Rejection beginning to make it's ugly presence known to him.

"So did anyone find out what happened Ruby and Casey?", April asked as she, Indi, Romeo and Dex walked along the beach. They all shook their heads. They'd asked around to see if they could find out more about what had happened but so far it was all still a big unsolved mystery. Just then they saw Xavier bounding down the beach towards them. They all stopped as he approached and when he finally got to where they were standing he doubled over trying to catch his breath. Everyone looked at him wondering why he was in such a hurry. "Ah, Xav, something you wanna tell us?", Romeo asked as he patted his friend on the back. Finally, Xavier managed to catch his breath. "I just met up with Casey and guys, you're not gonna believe what he just told me".

A few minutes later and the whole gang were all sitting around in silence, trying to digest what they had just been told."I can't believe it. I mean I knew the Riverboys were trouble, but this, this is actually disgusting", Indi said as she dug in the sand with a twig she had found. "Poor Casey. It must be hard for finding out what his brothers have been up to for so long. And Ruby getting caught in the middle of it all just because she's Casey's girlfriend", April said. Xavier flinched slightly. He had told them that the Riverboys had turned on Brax and Heath and kidnapped Casey and Ruby. But he had left out the part about Charlie and Brax having a secret affair and that being the reason that Ruby was dragged into it.

Truth be told, he wasn't sure he could believe it himself. While he knew it was none of his business, he couldn't help but feel disappointed in Charlie. But knowing from talking to Casey that none of this was public knowledge he decided it best he kept it to himself until he found out whether or now it was true. He also didn't want to risk anyone getting in trouble for knowing more than the police. "Xav, you okay?", Dex asked. Realising he had been quiet for a long time, Xavier nodded his and said he was fine. Then Indi spoke up. "Hey guys, I think we should do something for Ruby. You know to cheer her up and let her know we're there to support her", she said looking around at everyone. "What do you suggest?", Romeo asked as he looked at his girlfriend curious to find out what she was planning. "Come on, we need to head into Yabbie Creek", she that they all set off to find out what Indi had in store.

Knocking on Ruby's door, Charlie entered her bedroom and noticed the teen's eyes were still closed. "Rubes, are you awake", she asked as she went over and sat on the bed. She was surprised to see her daughter nod back at her as she expected she would have to gently shake her. "Yeah I'm awake", Ruby responded rather half heartedly. Charlie stroked Ruby's arm as she questioned her daughter's odd behaviour. "Well then why are your eyes shut?", she asked. "Open, closed, what does it matter. It's all just black anyways", she said. The reaction saddened Charlie as she could hear Ruby's voice shaking with emotion as she talked.

The next few moments went by rather awkwardly for both Buckton's. Charlie had to be Ruby's eyes to help her pick out her outfit for the day. And when they were done picking out clothes, she had to help her brush her teeth, how to manoever around the bathroom so she could shower and then she had to help her find her own bedroom. It was difficult. Ruby had to memorise how to get from the bathroom down the corridor to her own room and then how to get from her own room to the living room. She used her sense of touch to help herself along the corridor and Charlie walked ahead to guide her. As she made into the living room she felt around for something to grab hold but there was nothing close by and she hesitated.

"I can't do it", Ruby said as she stood still. Charlie looked at her, "What why not?", she asked. A tear rolled down Ruby's cheek as thought about why she she couldn't do it. "Because I'm scared. I'm scared of the unknown. I'm scared that every next step I take could be the wrong one. That something could go wrong". Suddenly Charlie realised what Ruby was talking about. She was scared of not knowing what was in front of her. Of not being able to see any dangers that may be in her way. Knowing how insecure this made her daughter feel Charlie stood in front of her and grabbed a hold of Ruby's hands. "Rubes listen to me. I am right her, right in front of you. I know you're scared and I know it's hard not knowing what's coming in front of you", she said as she cupped Rubys face in the palm of her hands. "But I will be here to catch you. If you trip, I'll break your fall. If you lose your sense of direction, I'll guide you on to the right path. But it will only get easier if you try".

At Angelo's, Brax was stood behind the bar, polishing the wine glasses, and watching as people made their way in and out of the restaurant. Every time a slender brunetter walked throught the door he held his breath, hoping it would be Charlie. But every time he was left disappointed. Just as he was finishing up, he heard the laughter of teenagers entering the restaurant. Turning around he spotted Casey's friend Xavier and Dex, as well as their other friends walking through the restaurant. When they looked up at Brax, their laughter stopped and they all looked at him nervously. Until Dex pointed out that they were making it obvious that they were staring.

Watching as they sat down, Brax could by the way they stared at him that then knew more than they were letting on. After a couple more minutes he could't take the awkward glances over in his direction and he made his way out of Angelo's, asking one of his staff to take the kids orders as he left. As he walked over to his car he got in and sat behind the steering wheel. Gripping it with force as he tried not to let his frustration get the better of him. He thought about going home until he remembered that home was now a stingy motel room just outside of town. A surf was out of the question as he knew Heath and his mates would be hanging around the beach, waiting to tear lumps out of him. Then he thought about Charlie. He knew it was wrong, but he couldn't himself. He had to go see her and make things right. Turning the key in the ignition, he tore out of the car park and made his way for her house.

Inside the restaurant the gang all sat around pleased with themselves after returning from Yabbie Creek. April was the first to speak up. "So do you think Ruby will like the surprise?", she asked as she looked between the rest of the gang. Dex nodded his head "I think she'll love it. It's thoughtful and unique. I hate to say but Indi, you actually did good", he said with a half genuine, half sarcastic smile. Indi laughed at her brothers half hearted attempt at praising her. "Why thank you Dex, I do have my moments". Romeo checked his watch and had an idea himself. "Hey guys, instead of getting pizza, why don't we pick up Ruby and have a picnic on the beach. We can give her the present while we're there". he said. Everyone nodded in agreement and set off for the Diner to pick up a picnic basket. Setting there plan in motion.

Arriving Charlie's house, Brax pulled up outside and turned off the engine. Looking at the house he hesitated. Now that he was so close, he wasn't sure he was doing the right thing. But something inside him woulodn't stop eating away at him untill he saw Charlie. So, with one final deep breath he got out of the car and made his way around towards the back door. Just as he was approaching, he heard Charlie's voice coming from the kitchen through the open window. Suddenly losing his nerve to go and knock on the door, he hid in the bushes and peered throught the window to see what was going on.

Sitting at the kitchen table, Charlie was helping Ruby adapt to the kitchen utensils by feeling them out so she would know what she was holding and where it could be found. Brax watched as Charlie handed Ruby another utensil. Taking a firm grip of it, Ruby used her other hand to feel out the object. All the while staring off into the distance. Never at anything in particular. Turning his focus to Charlie, he could see the sadness in her eyes as she watched Ruby try to work out object after object. Her sadness turned to a brief yet forced smile when Ruby succeed. It tore him up inside to think that their lives were perfectly happy until he showed up. Realising that he couldn't fix what had happened to Ruby, he became deflated. Knowing deep down that Charlie couldn't forgive him for the suffereing he had caused her daughter. With one last glance, he turned on his heel and headed back to the restaurant.

That night Ruby lay in bed with her eyes wide open. She could sense her mother's presence standing in the doorway watching over her but she said nothing. Exhausted by the day she had spent learning how to adapt to her new life, she could help but feel angry. Everything that used to seem so simple to her now seemed like the biggest challenge. Every day was a constant test, and a reminder that her life would never be the same. But what was worse was, she knew that when she went to sleep, the next morning she would wake up to noting but more darkness. And no matter how hard Charlie tried to make things better, in Ruby's mind, there was no such thing as better.

Walking along the road in the darkness, Casey held a hand to his still healing ribs. Although he tried not to be like his brothers, at times like this, he knew he shared a common triat with them. When he felt betrayed, his anger took over and common sense went out the window. As he approached the Surf Club he spotted Brax's black Holden ute parked outside. As he was about to make his way into the club and confront his older brother he stopped. Turning around he looked at the car. Walking around to the back he picked up the crowbar Brax kept in the back. Talking to his brother would be useless, All he would get were empty apologys that meant nothing. Raising the corw bar up he gripped it tightly and then..._bang_ He smashed id down onto the hood of the car.

The more he struck the car, the harder he hit, the angrier he got. As he continued to bash the car he thought of Ruby and what happened to her. He thought of himself and what he had been through. But above all else he thought of the trust that had been broken between him and his eldest brother and he lost it. Finally, with no energy left, he stopped. Looking at the destruction in front of him, Casey dropped the crowbar. Broken class, damaged wing mirrors lay scattered all over the ground. The car was a broken heap. In Casey's eyes, it represented his relationship with his brother. There was no way back.

**Next Time:**

***Romeo, Indi, Xaver, April and Dex bring Ruby on a picnic and surprise her with a gift**

***With the help of her friends Ruby decides to give Charlie a gift, but Charlie also has a surprise for her daughter**

***Brax finds out Casey was responsible for thrashing his car.**

***Watson becomes suspicious when nobody has a legitimate story about what happened**


	5. Chapter 5

Hanging up the phone, Charlie picked up her car keys and made her exit through the back door. She had just spent the last hour organising a surprise for Ruby and after careful consideration, Leah's approval and some lengthy research, she was now confident that she had everything in order. Thankfully, Indi, April and the rest of the gang had kindly taken Ruby out for a picnic so Charlie knew she had a couple of spare hours on her hands. Which was more than enough to get to and from the city in time to pick her daughter up from the Surf Club. However, just as she was preparing to set off, she was interrupted by the arrival of Constable Watson in a squad car.

Standing by her car with her arms across the open door, Charlie watched as her collegue made her way across the front lawn to where she was standing. The closer Watson got, the stronger the the urge Charlie felt to run. It had been weeks since the fire, but still neither Charlie or Brax had discussed what they would tell the police. The hadn't even sat down with Casey and Ruby to figure out how they felt about what happened and whether or not they were going to tell the truth or lie. That's what was currently eating away at Charlie. The idea of her own daughter lying to the police because of the risk Charlie and Brax faced legaly if it were to become public knowledge that they were conducting a secret affair whilst all the members of the Riverboys were under investigation. How could she ask Ruby to do that? After everything she had been through. It wouldn't be fair.

Which is why Charlie knew, no matter how eager Watson was to get any information, she had to turn her in the opposite direction until she could work things out herself. "G'day Charlie", Watson said as she came to a stop next to where her boss was standing. "I was wondering if Ruby was well enough to talk today. We really need to get a statement soon to keep the investigation going", she said tyring not to pressure her boss but knowing she still needed to do her job. "Watson now is not a good time. Ruby's a wreck, she' still adjusting to being...", Charlie trailed off, still finding it difficult to acknowledge the fact that her daughter was blind. "...to her disablity. She's barely sleeping, her emotions are all over the place. She's not ready to talk about what happened yet", she finished with a pleading look, almost begging Watson to lay off for the time being.

Noticing the anguish etched across Charlie's face, Watson decided to drop it for the time being. Ruby had been through quite a lot so she figured she could drag out getting a statement from her for at least another couple of days. But she was under pressure at work to keep the momentum going in the investigation and no matter how badly Charlie wanted to sidestep it, Watson knew that sooner rather than later, it had to be done. Saying her goodbyes to Charlie, she walked back across the lawn and climbed into her squad car. Turning the car on she headed off in the direction of the Surf Club. Charlie and Ruby may not be ready to talk, but she figured she could at least try and talk to Brax and Casey.

Once out of sight, Charlie reached for her phone and dialled her stepmothers number. If anyone could help sort out a crisis, Morag was the woman for the job, and with her knowledge and long experience of dealing with situations such as this, she was hopeful they could work together to come up with a solution that was beneficial to all involved. "Morag, it's Charlie. Could we meet up some time tonight? Watson's been around and from what I gather, my superiors are pushing for a quick investigation. I don't know how much longer we can keep them at bay", she said as she waited for a reply. With hesitation Morag made the arrangements to meet at Angelo's that night along with Brax so they could sit down and talk things through.

Once Morag was finished, Charlie ended the call and typed up a text message to Brax, informing him of the pan for that night. As she sent the text Charlie felt a sadness wash over her as she reflected back on all the previous times she had text Brax. They used to arrange to meet up to spend time together. Now they were meeting up to try and salvage what was left of their personal lives and save themselves from ruin. It was like they had walked into an alternate reality where everything was flipped on it's head and neither were sure they could ever go back to the way things were. Once the message had been sent Charlie hopped into her car and headed to the city. Determind to at least do something to put a smile on her daughters face by the end of the day.

Looking at the wreck in front of him, Brax rubbed his forehead in frustration. All that was left of his car was a broken shell. Pieces of glass, paint and other debris lay scattered on the ground at his feet along with the crowbar that had been used to create the mess. But it wasn't the fact that his car had been vandalised that bothered Brax. It was the fact that it was his own brother who had been the culprit behind it. After finding his car in its current state the previous night, Brax used the CCTV footage from the Surf Club to identify who had done it. Upon learning it was Casey, he immediately wiped the footage and damaged the camera to make it look like a fault in system. He had caused Casey an unbearable amount of pain in the last few days. He wasn't going to have his brother hassled over something which in Brax's eyes was minor in comparison to what he had done himself.

As he picked up the bigger pieces of rubble, he was pulled from his thoughts by the arrival of a squad car. After receiving Charlie's text, he was aware that they were poking around for statements so he knew it was time to turn on the old Braxton pseudo and double talk his way out of an questions. Watson pulled up next to where Brax's car was parked and stepped out of the car. Looking the wreckage before her up and down, she laughed. "Looks like karma actually does have it in for your type afterall Mr. Braxton", she said. Her dislike of all things Riverboy related clear for anyone to hear. Brax looked at her with a look of annoyance. "Are you just here to make pointless converstaion or have you actually something worthwhile to say? Cause I don't know how you coppers operate but some of us actually have jobs to do eh".

Watson walked around to the far side of the car and stood face to face Brax clearly unimpressed with his lack of respect for the police. "We need to get a statement from Casey about the fire. Any ideas where he is?", she asked. Brax shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "No. But then again I'm not his mother so I don't usually keep track of where he goes or who with", he said placing his hands on his hips and taking a more steady stance to shake off any hint of uneasiness. Watson glared at him clearly unimpressed. "You're brother and his girlfriend almost died in a fire in a house close by to an area where your brother Heath and the rest of your Riverboy mates. Now that would sound suss to anyone with half a brain", she said trying to evoke a reaction out of the eldest Braxton. But Brax kept his cool.

Realising she wasn't going to get anything out of him, Watson decided to give up for the time being and head back to the station. "When you hear from Casey tell him we're looking for him", she said and with that she walked back to her squad car and jumped into the driver seat. Taking one last look at Brax, Watson couldn't help but see something in his eyes that didn't sit right with her. Obviously he knew more than he was letting on. And she was now more determind than ever to figure out what Brax and the Riverboys were hiding? And why Casey and Ruby were almost killed in what could either be an unfortunate case of wrong place at the wrong time, or, a case of two innocent people paying for the crimes of someone else. No matter what, Watson vowed to uncover the truth.

Down by the beach Indi, Romeo, April, Xavier and Dex all sat around and prided themselves on a job well done. They had just presented Ruby with a leather braided bracelet with a silver medallion engraved with her name on the front and in braille on the back. The gesture moved Ruby, not only because of the gift, but because the rest of her friends had also purchased similar bracelets so Ruby would always know who she was with and that they would always be there for her. They had even purchased one for Nicole and sent it to her in the City so she would always be a part of the group. It was moments like this that made Ruby realise how blessed she was to have such friends in her life. She couldn't thank them enough.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you so much", she said as she cupped the wrist which the bracelet was now sitting upon. The rest of the group smiled feeling like everything they had done today was worthwhile to see Ruby smile again. They just wished Casey had made the effort to show up. "It was no problem. We just want you to know that we're here for you no matter what", April said as she placed a arm around Ruby's shoulders. Raising her head, Ruby attempted to look in April's direction but suddenly lost the confidence to do so when she realised she had no idea what direction that was. Then she thought of Casey. She missed him so much and it had been days since she last saw him. Shifting slightly, she winced when a pain shot through her broken leg.

"Rubes, are okay?", Xavier asked as he noticed her pained expression. "Yeah I'm fine, I just moved too quickly", she reassured him. "Hey, has anyone seen Casey? I haven't heard from him at all", she said hoping someone would answer her rather quickly since she couldn't read their expressions. Xavier looked at the others and after seeing the looks they were giving him, realised he had to be honest. "Yeah, I saw him today. He didn't say much, he was pretty tired. But I'm sure he'll get in touch soon. He probably thinks you need time to rest", he said trying not to make Ruby feel like her boyfriend was avoiding her. Suddenly, an awkward silence fell upon the group. Nobody knowing what to say for fear of saying the wrong thing

Playing with the bracelet on her wrist suddenly Ruby found herself wishing that Charlie was picking her to bring her home. She was grateful for everything her friends had done for her, but at the same time she realised just how unprepared she was to face the real world again. All she wanted to do was go home and curl up on the couch in Charlie's arms and block everything out. All day and all night her mind was flooded with images of that dreadful day. It was like she couldn't switch them off. And waht made it that much worse, was knowing that the Riverboys were still out there and that's what terrified her. She wanted to go home and feel safe in the knowledge that Charlie was there to protect her. She wanted her mother.

It was strange. After everything they had been through in the last two years, Ruby never thought she would ever have such a strong connection with Charlie again. But after everything that happend, she realised that life was too short to let little things get in the way. It was time to move on and finally accept everything that had happened whole heartedly. In that moment Ruby was grateful to have a mother like Charlie. Then it hit her. Touching her bracelet she smiled to herself as an idea came to her. "Hey guys, could you do me a massive favour?", she asked and they all prepared to help her in whatever way they could.

Later that day, Ruby and the gang arrived back at the Surf Club having just arrived back from Yabbie Creek. Sitting at a table they all chatted away happily like old times. Ruby smiled about the little box in her handbag. After everything Charlie had been doing for her, she felt like she need to thank her in some way. Just as she was about to say something, she was interrupted by the message alert tone on Indi's phone. "Oh Ruby it's your mum. She's waiting outside at the bench in the boatshed", she said. Ruby frowned in confusion as to why her mother wanted to meet her outside. Indi smiled to herself and showed the message to the rest of the gang to let them in on the secret. Romeo stood up and helped guide Ruby outside, allowing her to lean on him as not to put pressure on her encased leg.

Romeo looked up and spotted Charlie standing by the bench. When they were close enough, Charlie reached out and hugged her daughter before thanking Romeo for helping her out. "So how was your day?", she asked as she guided Ruby to the bench and they sat down. "It was good to catch up with everyone. They eh, they got me this", she said flashing her new bracelet in front of Charlie. "It's beautiful Rubes. It really is", Charlie said knowing her daughter couldn't actually see the beauty in the bracelet. Ruby smiled and then decided she would present her mother with the gift she had bought her with the help of her friends.

"The guys got one each too so that I'd always know who I was with. Pretty much as a way for me to identify those I can trust. Which is why, I got you this", Ruby said as she removed the box from her handbag. Hnading it to Charlie she awaited her mother's response. Talking the box from Ruby's hands, Charlie opened it up and was left speechless by what she found. Placing the box down on the bench she removed the necklace that was inside. It was pendent on a long silver chain. On the front of the pendent was Charlie's name a chinese symbol underneath which she wasn't familiar with. "Rubes...it's, it's beautiful. She said as she studied it carefully.

"The chinese symbol on the front is for protection. And...", she said turning the pendent over in Charlie's hand, "...on the back, I had it embossed with braille", she said. Charlie ran her thum across the back of the pendent. "What does it say?", she asked. Ruby looked at her and smiled. "It says Mum", she replied simply. Charlie looked at Ruby the second the word left her mouth. Tears welled up in her eyes and she could feel herself getting choked up. Clutching the necklace close to her chest Charlie thanked Ruby and then pulled her daughter into a hug. Unlatching the hook she put the chain around her neck and connected the clasp. Smiling at the chain that took pride of place around her neck. Now it was Charlie's turn to surprise Ruby.

"Since we're in the giving mood, I actually have something for you", she said and smiled when she saw Ruby sit up straight in anticipation. "Really?", Ruby asked surprised. "It's in the car, I'll be back in a sec". Getting up from the bench, Charlie went to the car to retrieve Ruby's surprise. Within a seconds Charlie arrived back and stood over her daughter. "Okay, hold out your arms", she said. Ruby obeyed her mother and held out her arms. "Rubes, this, is Jacob", she said as she placed the golden labrador puppy in her daughter's arms. "What? Charlie...are you serious?", she asked as she petted the puppy in her arms.

"Of course I'm serious", Charlie said as she smiled at the sight before her. "Jacob is a guide dog in training. In a couple of months, he'll be able to help you get around and adjust to everything", she finished as she sat back down on the bench next to her daughter. "But Charlie, you hate dogs", Ruby said as she glanced in the general direction of where her mother was sitting. "Yeah I do. But I love you. And if this is what it takes, if this is what you need to help you live the best life you can, then I don't care. I'll get over it. I just want you to be happy", she said as she placed a hand on Ruby's arm. Wiping away a tear that had fallen down her cheek, Ruby smiled. "Thank you", she said.

Later that night, Charlie made her way upstairs to Angelo's. just like Morag had said and made her way into the restaurant. She stopped in her tracks when she caught sight of Brax standing behind the bar counting the days takings. Her heart skipped a beat when he looked up at her, She felt her breathing intensify and her knees begin to weaken. As she walked towards the bar, he stepped out from behind the counter to meet her. This was the first time they had been together alone in a room in days. But it felt ike it had been forever as he marvelled at the beauty standing before him. He was still bowled over by the effect Charlie Buckton had on him. He felt things he never felt before.

"Hey", he said once he was close enough. "Hey", she replied. As they stood there in silence they felt the electricity between them take hold. There hearts racing at being so close for the first time in so long. They stared at each others lips wanting so badly to taste them, to be connected once more. Just as they were about to give in, a force to be reckoned with interrupted. "Don't you dare think about it", boomed the voice of Morag Bellingham as she entered the restaurant. "You might have been stupid enough to get involved the first time but under no circumstances will it happen again. Not if I'm going to put my neck on the line to fix the mess you've gotten yourselves in", she said, making her fellings about their relationship evident for all to see.

"Morag please", Charlie pleaded as she felt the sting of the condemning words that Morag spoke. "Oh for God's sake Charlie grow up. Nothing good can ever come from you and Darryl being together. Recent events should have made you very much aware of that", she said as she shook her head in disapproval. "Ironic how Ruby is the one who lost her sight, yet you're the one who is truly blind to what's really standing before her. You will do well to say goodbye to Darryl once and for all when this investigation is through", Morag said finally finshing her rand and leaving Charlie with a lot to think about. Clutching the chain around her neck, she rubbed her thumb against the word 'mum' on the back of the pendent and gathered her thoughts. Looking at Brax who had returned behind the bar, she felt the tears well up in her eyes. She hated to give up, but Morag was right. No good come of being with Brax. At least not now. Maybe in another time and place. But for now, she had to let go. For Ruby's sake, and for her's. With that the three of them sat down and discussed what was going to happen.

_Tossing and turning, Ruby found herself engulfed in flames. Her lungs struggling against the smoke that was consuming her. She screamed for help but nobody could hear her. She looked around for a way out but she was trapped. She felt the burning sensation in her eyes and she rubbed them vigorously as everything in front of her faded to black. "Nooooooo", she screamed. "Noooooooo..."_

"NO!", Ruby screamed as she jolted upright in the bed. Panic setting in as she rubed her eyes hoping for the blackness to lift. Stumbling out of the bed she fell against the bedside cabinet as she reached out for the door. Opening it up she burst out of the room and fell against the wall trying to feel her way to the living room. Tears cascading down her cheeks as she stumbled her way down the hallway. "No, no, no", she cried. The fear of being trapped consuming her. She could feel her chest tightening as she finally reached the entrance of the living. Feeling around for something to grab she crashed into one of the dining chairs and fell in a heap on the ground in floods of tear. The sound of the crash alerting Charlie who bounded down the hall into the living room and turned on the ligh.

"Ruby", Charlie said as she ran over to where her daughter was sprawled out on the floor. Once she was kneeling beside her daughter, Ruby latched onto her for dear life. "Charlie, Charlie please help me. Please", she cried as she lay her head against Charlie's chest and wept. Trying to catch her breath. Charlie wrapped her arms tightly around Ruby and rocked her back and forth. "It's okay. I'm here, I'm here. Shhhh", she said trying to sooth her. But she couldn't help but feel her own worry take hold. Maybe Ruby was more tormented than she knew.

**Next Time:**

***Charlie and Ruby have a heart to heart**

***Casey can't bring himself to visit Ruby**

***Leah finds out the truth about Charlie and Brax and makes her feelings quite clear**

***Brax wonders if he and Charlie will ever be reunited **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey sorry it's taken me so long to update. But here's the latest chapter. I hope you enjoy it. I have some free time on my hands so if I get 5 or more reviews I'll post the next chapter within the next day or so for those who can't wait to find out what happens next :-) Hope you like it**

Once Ruby's sobs had eased, Charlie gently helped her daughter up off the floor and helped guide her to the couch in the middle of the living room. Sitting her down, Charlie pulled the coffee table up closer and after placing a pilow on it, she carefully lifted Ruby's broken leg and placed on top of it. Making sure that it was well elevated. When she was sure her daughter was comfortable she walked around the coffee table and sat down on the couch next to Ruby, placing her arm around her shoulders. As Ruby wiped away the last of her tears, she apologised to her mother for waking her up and disturbing her sleep.

"Hey, listen to me, you have nothing to be sorry for", Charlie replied as she ran her fingers through Ruby' hair. "Don't ever apologise for needing me". Ruby smiled back at her with a thoughtful expression. Her breathing finally beginning to return to normal. Charlie sat up straighter, something she always did when she intended on asking something serious. "Rubes, how long have you been having these dreams?", she asked, suddenly very aware that she didn't know the extent of what Ruby was going through. When her daughter didn't answer her, Charlie lowered her head to Ruby's level to signify that she wouldn't give up until she got an answer. Ruby crossed her arms across her chest in a defensive manner and looked at Charlie with red eyes.

"Every night since the fire", she finally said in a voice that was barely audible. Charlie sighed heavily. How could she not have known what Ruby was going through? How could she not have seen the stress and worry that her daughter was feeling? And that's when it hit her. The reason Charlie couln't see it, was because she didn't want to see. Because if she saw what was really going on around her, it would make everything all too real. The reality of what the Riverboys had done, of Ruby's disability. The reality of Brax. If she let it all in it would hurt her more than she could bear. She closed herself off to her suspicions and let Brax in. All for it to back fire on her in ways unimaginable.

"Oh Ruby, why didn't you tell me?", Charlie said, edging closer to her daughter and tightening her grip around her shoulders. Ruby turned her head and gazed in Charlie's general direction, fidgeting with her hands as she sat there contemplating what to say. She felt exposed. Bearing her soul to Charlie was usually easy for her. But knowing that her other was so involved in what was causing her this anguish made it awkward for her to be honest. But sensing her mother gazing at her for a response, she knew she couldn't keep bottling it up. She had to tell her the truth and hope that the relief of getting it off her chest would ease her nightmares.

"Because you had enough going with the Riverboys and Brax and juggling work so you can take care of me, I just, I didn't want to add one more thing for you to worry about", she said. Charlie choked down a sob as her tears threatened to fall. Even after everything that she had been through, the fire, losing her sight, Ruby was still trying to be as stong as ever. It made Charlie sad. Sad because her daughter didn't deserve this. Sad because her daughter felt like she had to be strong because her mother wasn't capable of being strong enough for the both of them. Sad because she had brought this on their small intimate family. But not anymore. From now on she was going to put Ruby above everything and everyone else. She was going to be strong enough to carry them both through this ordeal. No matter how tough it got.

"Rubes, promise me that from now on, you'll be honest with me. I know you were just trying to spare my feelings, but I don't ever want you to feel like you have to carry around this burden on your own", Charlie said stroking Ruby's hair as she spoke. When she was done, Ruby nodded her head to show her awknowledgement of what her mother had just said. Reaching out her arms, Ruby gestured for a hug and found herself engulfed in Charlie's arms instantly. Feeling around her mother's chest, Ruby found the pendent hanging from her Charlie's neck and she cupped it in her hand. Running her fingers across the word 'mum' on the back.

"We're gonna get past this Rubes. I promise", Charlie said as she held Ruby in her arms. After both women had consoled themselves the seperated and sat back on the couch. Ruby sat quietly for a moment thinking about to broach the subject of her next question, but she knew that there was no easy way to bring it up. She just had to take the plunge. "Charlie, about you and Brax. Are you going to keep seeing each other?", she asked. There was silence. The one thing that really got to Ruby about being blind, other then feeling of complete helplessness, was the fact that she could no longer read a persons expression to find out how they were really feeling or whether or not they were being truthful.

"Lets not talk about that right now Rubes", Charlie said stroking Ruby's arms. Both women were suddenly startled by the noise of a handbag being slammed down onto the kitchen counter. Turning around, Charlie was stunned into silence by the arrival of Leah into the living. "Actually I think now is the perfect time to talk about Brax", Leah said as she crossed her arms. Sensing the tension, Ruby decided she would go back to bed and allow Charlie and Leah to have a private discussion. "Okay, I'll get Ruby to bed and then we'll talk", Charlie said as she stood, gently pulling Ruby up off the couch and guiding her to her bedroom. Once Ruby was settled back in her bed, Charlie crossed the room to where Jacob was sleeping in his doggy bed. She picked him up and brought him over to her daughters bed and sat down.

"Ususally I wouldn't allow Jacob to be up on the bed", Charlie said placing the dog down beside Ruby and placing her daughters hand on the pub, "But having him close by, I dunno, it might be like a comfort blanket or something". Ruby smiled as she stroked the little pups head. Placing a kiss on Ruby's forehead, Charlie stood up and walked to the door, turning her head, she took one last glance at her daughter and braced herself for the difficult conversation she was about to have. After one last deep breath, she walked out and closed the door behind her.

A half an hour had passed and Charlie and Leah were sat at the diner table in the living room. Charlie had told her housemate everything. About Brax, what he was, or had been involved in, the sneaking around, the Riverboys finding out, and, what really happened to Ruby and Casey. When she was finished, Leah sat shellshocked. She had her suspicions, but she never actually thought Charlie would have pursued a relationship Brax. Especially not since she kicked up so much of a fuss about how he was bad news. It also didn't help that over the last few months, Leah had developed her own distrust of the eldest Braxton and everything Riverboy related.

"I don't understand. You were the one who was the most suspicious of Brax when he first arrived. What changed?", she asked. Clearly confused by the sudden turn around. Charlie glanced up at Leah for the first time since she had finished explaining everything. "I don't know. I just, I saw a side of him that was different to the Brax that everyone else sees", she said rubbing her brow in frustration. Leah was bewildered. Sure, everyone has more than one side to them, but Brax was still a criminal. After everything Charlie had told her, she felt justified in her opinion that Brax wasn't as clean cut as he made himself out to be.

"I can understand the attraction. I'm sure we've all been swept up in the idea of being with a bad boy", Leah tried her best to cut Charlie some slack. Afterall, herself had been taken in by Brax's charms when he first arrived. But that didn't stop her from thinking Charlie had made a huge mistake. "But, to actually put yourself at such risk, it's not you Charlie. You always told me to trust my instincts when they were telling me something wasn't right. If you'd done the same thing instead of turning a blind eye because you were caught up in the rush, or whatever it was, then maybe you would have seen what was going on from the beginning". Charlie looked at Leah stunned. Her own friend had more or less made her out to be a fool. Like she chose to develop feelings for Brax.

"I'm sorry for being human Leah. I'm sorry that I was so blind to what was really going on. I made a mistake in how I chose to go about my relationship for Brax. But I want apologise for how I feel about him. How I felt about him", Charlie said, trying to defend her actions as those of someone who wasn't in control of her emotions. Leah could see in Charlie's eyes how sincere she was being, but there was a big part of her that, while understanding of Charlie's feelings, couldn't condone any sort of relationship between her housemate and the notorious Riverboy.

"Yeah a pretty big mistake. I can understand falling for someone you shouldn't. Believe me I do", Leah looked into Charlie's tears filled eyes and then continued. "But Charlie, Brax isn't good for you. He's dangerous. His world is dangerous. You being involved with him, it's already hurt Casey and it's cost Ruby the chance of a struggle free future", Leah said, trying her best to emphasis the fact that she believed Charlie had made a bad decision. Charlie sat there speechless, Leah's words stung her more than she thought they could. When the their full extent finally began to sink in Charlie found her voice again.

"Don't you think I know that", she said, the tears now falling freely as she spoke. "Everytime I look at Ruby I'm reminded of how badly I screwed. I'm her mum. I'm supposed to protect her from that world but instead I brought her into it. I let Brax into our lives and she got hurt. More than I can bare to think about", Charlie said her tears now turning into heart wrenching sobs as she thought of her daughter and of Brax. "I hate myself for what happened to Ruby. I blame myself for what happened to her. It's my fault, I'm the reason she's suffering", Charlie broke down in tears at the table. Leah reached over and took a hold of her friends hand. She decided there and then that thye had talked enough for the night. But before she called it a night she left Charlie with some parting words. "If that's how you feel, then you need to ask yourself if you could risk anything like that happening again. Because if decided to give Brax another chance, something like this WILL happen again". With that Leah stood up and went to bed. Living Charlie with a lot to think about.

Down by the beach, Casey sat in the darkness, listening to the sound of the water lapping against the sand. He wasn't sure how long he had been there. Just that he had spent the entire time he had been there thinking about Ruby. He missed her so much, but he couldn't bring himself to visit her. Not when he knew that it was the presence of his family in her life that was the reason she was hurt so badly. He blamed Brax for not being honest with him, but in a weird twisted way, he blamed himself. If he had never pursued a relationship with Ruby, then she would never have been such an easy target. Now that she was blind, Casey didn't know how he was supposed to deal with that.

He felt terrible for thinking about himself and how hard this was for him when Ruby was the one who actually had the disablity. But he didn't know what else to do. He didn't know how to act or how this would affect them. Taking out his iPhone he opened up the pictures of him and Ruby that they had taken at the beach. Flicking through them he felt a tear escape his eye and fall down his cheek. Wiping it away he stood up, and with one last look, he tossed the phone into the ocean out of anger. He loved Ruby, but deep down he couldn't help but feel that he was no good for her. As far was Casey was concerned, Ruby was better off without him.

From a distance, Brax holding a bottle of bourbon, watching Casey. It hurt him to see his brother like this. What was worse was, he was dealing with his own pain, as well as dealing with everyone elses. He had lost the only woman he ever truly cared about and he didn't know how to handle that. He never meant to hurt Charlie as much as he had. But he realised that lying to her about his double life was the biggest mistake he could have made. Maybe if he had just been honest from the start, things might have turned out differently. But that was something he would never know.

Taking a swig from the bottle of bourbon, he sat down on the sand. His mind racing at a hundred miles an hour. But the only thing he cared about was Charlie. He missed her. He wanted to make it up to her but he wasn't sure how? Or if it was even possible. What he did know, was that he probably screwed up the best thing that ever happened to him. And to top it all off his family had disowned him, Morag Bellingham was out to 'get' him and Brodie and the other Riverboys were still out there possibly, plotting another revenge move against him. And there was nothing he could do about it. Taking one more swig from the bottle, he stood up and tossed up the other end of the beach next to a sand pit. Then he walked back the pathway to the Surf Club.

The next morning Ruby found herself sitting on the beach waiting for her mother to pick her up. Xavier and April had called around earlier to visit and they persuaded her to go to the beach with them. Xavier had decided to hit the surf while the waves were so good and April had gone up to the Surf Club to get the all some juices. Sitting alone, Ruby listened intently to the spund of the ocean, the laughter of small children playing in the sand, the whispers of her school peers as they passed her by but didn't say anything to her. Just by listening Ruby felt like she could see them staring at her. Who wouldn't stare at the blind girl? she thought. After a couple of minutes had passed, Ruby began to feel very much alone.

Just then, she heard the sound of sand crunching under someone's feet coming from behind her. "Hey Rubes", Charlie said as she kissed the top of her daughter's head and sat down beside her. "Hey", Ruby replied, with less enthusiasm than Charlie would have liked. "Rubes, what's wrong?", she asked her daughter as she placed a hand on her arm. Ruby turned her head towards the direction of Charlie's voice and sighed. "It's just, being here. This beach, it's one of the most beauitful places in the Bay. And I'm never going to see it again", she said choking back tears. Charlie's face softened into a sympatheic look.

"Oh Rubes. Listen to me", Charlie said as she placed a hand on the side of her daughters face, "You can see it again. You just have to take everything in and picture it in your head", she finished, stroking Ruby's cheek. Raching up her hand, Ruby gently inched it forward until she felt it touch Charlie's face. Using this as a guide she brought up her other hand and began to feel out Charlie's face. "Rubes, sweetie, what are you doing?", Charlie asked. Confused by her daughters actions. Ruby continued to touch her mothers face. "If I feel out your facial expressions, I can picture you in my head. It's almost like I can see you again", she said. Charlie welled up with tears at the sentiment in what Ruby had said. Cupping one of her daughters hands in her own, she kissed it and then placed it on the side of her face, so Ruby could continue to 'see' her.

**Next Time:**

***Charlie pours her heart out to Bianca**

***Leah tells Brax to stay away from Charlie**

***Heath warns Brax of trouble ahead**

***Ruby finally breaksdown over the reality of her disablity when a lunch date with her friends goes horribly wrong and someone unexpected comes to her rescue.**


	7. Chapter 7

Knocking on Irene's back door, Charlie waited for a reply before entering the house. Bounding down the stairs, Bianca smiled at her friend and invited her in, but frowned when she sensed the tense nature of Charlie's visit. "Hey what's up? You look like you've had a rough night", she said gesturing for Charlie to join her on the couch. Sitting down, Charlie turned to Bianca with tears in her eyes. "Bianca, I've messed everything up", she said, finally allowing her tears to fall. Bianca wrapped her arm around Charlie's shoulders and stroked her arm in a comforting manner. "Hey, talk to me. It can't be that bad". Charlie tossed her head back and wiped away her tears, then taking a deep breath she turned her gaze back to her friend.

"I've been seeing Brax. Secretly. For the last couple of months", Charlie said and then bowed her head and stared down at her hands. Bianca sat silently, trying to digest what Charlie had just said. "Oh. Well that was the last thing I expect to come out of your mouth", she replied. Charlie laughed to herself thinking of the reactions she'd received from Morag and Leah. "Yeah, well that seems to be the thought process everyone has. Typical Charlie. Warn people off the bad guy then end up in bed with him", she said her tears beginning to fall again. She hated to think of Brax as a bad guy, because the time they had spent together, he was nothing but sweet and kind and caring. But that as it turned out, was all based on a lie.

"No Charlie, I'm not judging you", Bianca said, realising that Charlie had taken what she'd said the wrong way. "Look we've all fallen for or had a fling with a bad boy and had it blow up in our faces. I mean just look at me and Heath", she said with a slight laugh. Thinging about how stupid she had been sleeping with the middle Braxton. Charlie sighed a little and what Bianca had said and then turned the conversation back to the more serious side of things. "I sense a 'but' coming", she said. Bianca's facial expression softened at how hard Charlie was being on herself and decided to thread the topic with caution.

"There is no 'but'. However, I am a little confused. I mean you did spend ages cracking down on Brax and the Riverboys and warning people to stay away. I guess I just don't understand how you got from point A to point B so fast", she said as she stood up and headed to the kitchen to put on a pot of fresh coffee. From the lounge Charlie thought about what Bianca said and realised that things between her and Brax had moved quite fast. Faster than her relationship with Angelo had ever gone. "I dunno. I guess the more time I spent with him, and saw how he was with Casey and his mum, it just, it made me see a different side to him. A side I didn't think existed until that point", she said lowering her head and staring down at her fidgeting hands.

Bianca returned to the lounge and with two mugs of coffee and sat down on the couch. Taking a sip she thought for a second about what Charlie had said about Brax and couldn't help wonder how exactly Charlie had 'messed things up'. It didn't sound like she or Brax had done anything wrong. "So what's the problem then? I mean I know Brax has a reputation of being a little shady but there's been no proof, and it's not like your hurting anyone. Are you?", she asked when she noticed Charlies face drop at the mention of people being hurt. "Charlie, talk to me", Bianca said when the silence became unbearable. Charlie nervously reached up and grasped the pendent around her neck and rubbed it. Something she found herself doing a lot when she didn't feel like she had the courage to speak. Then looking her best friend in the eye she found her voice again. "There's something you should know, about Brax".

At Angelo's, Brax was having a tough time keeping things together. Both Casey and Xavier had quit their jobs as pizza delivery boys, and he was having a hard time trying to keep the rest of his staff on side, what with the police keeping a very close eye on the place. It was like everything that was left in his life was slowly falling apart. The truth was he didn't know what else could go wrong. That was until he saw Heath enter the premises. Looking up, Brax stood behind the bar, his arms crossed as he saw his brother, in his usual beah attire walking towards him, showing a lack of respect for one of the customers who brushed off him. "Oi, watch it", he said and then made his way to the bar.

"Whatever it is Heath, I don't wanna hear it", he said leaning his hands on the counter top. Heath laughed in his brothers face. After everything that had happeneds, Heath couldn't believe Brax was trying to play the tough guy act with him. "That's rich comin' from a guy who has no chick, no family, no mates and is barely holdin' on to his business", he said with a smug grin. Brax could feel himself getting angry. He didn't like being reminded of how much he'd screwed. "Just thought I'd let you know I've had a visit from Tegan. Apparently she's been in contact with Brodes and the boys", he said before being cut off by a less than impressed Brax. Usually when Tegan was involved it spelled trouble for Brax. "So", he replied simply.

"Hey mate you might wanna take a look around at what you've got left to be snarky about before you talk to me like the dirt on the bottom of you shoe. I just thought I'd be the good brother and let you know that Brodes and the boys, they're planning somethin'. Somethin big", Heath said before walking behind the bar and helping himself to a beer. Brax looked at Heath and waited for him to elaborate, but as usual, Heath was a little slow on the uptake. "What, plannin what Heath?", he asked suddenly fearful of who this could hurt. Especially if it involved Charlie or Casey. "I dunno. But I do know, they want you out of the picture for good", with that, Heath turned on his heel and headed for the stairs. Raising the beer bottle over his head he shouted back, "Thanks for the beer Brax", and left.

Watching as Heath left, Brax lowered his head. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse he was pulled from his thoughts by the arrival of Leah, who looked like less of a customer and more like a woman with a bone to pick. "Brax we need to talk", she said placing her handbag down beside her on one of the bar stools. Brax rubbed his forehead in frustration and looked at her. "Look Leah I'm busy can we do this another time", he asked. Looking at him, Leah's face hardened somewhat, She looked was clearly hear to make a point and she wasn't going to leave until she made. "I know about you and Charlie. I know what happened that night, and about what really happened to Ruby and Casey", she said.

Brax stood there open mouthed. There was no way he could talk his way out of this. Leah had called his bluff and he had no choice but to hear her out. "I don't know if you were just using Charlie or if your intentions toward her would good. But I do know that guys like you, can never leave your old life behind. It will follow you wherever you go". Standing up, Leah picked up her handbag and prepared to leave. "Brax, if you care about Charlie, truly care about her, then you'll do what's best for her and walk away. Before you cause her or Ruby anymore heartache", she said. With that she turned away from Brax and left. Leaving him with even more to think about.

Downstairs in the Surf Club, Ruby was trying her best to enjoy the company of April, Dex and Indi, but was finding it more and more difficult. Being blind, Ruby felt like she constantly had to be on alert to what was going on around her, Taking in every sound, every smell. It was like she was restless all the time. Which made hanging around her friends hard to enjoy when they didn't have the same complication to overcome. She just felt like she was a loner, even though she was surrounded by people. She was broken from her thoughts by April who had been glaring at Heath and his friends over at the pool table.

"Look at them. They walk around like they own the place. I wish somebody would put them and the rest of the Riverboys in their place", she said brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. Ruby flinched "Can we talk about something else please", she said as she unfolded her cane and stood up. I'm going to get another juice anyone want anything?", she asked. The rest of the group declind her offer and watched as she slowly made her way across the room to the counter. "Me and my big mouth", April said as she put her head in her hand. "Hey its not your fault. I think she's going to be pretty touchy about pretty much everything Riverboy related for a while", Indi reassured her.

_CRASH..._came a noise from upstairs. Everyone in the Surf Club looked around trying to firgure out what had just happened. Then the noise of the fire alarm going off sent everyone into a frenzy. Before Ruby had time to react, everyone from Angelo's came rushing down the stairs telling everyone to run for the exit. Dex, Indi and April tried to get across the room to Ruby, but found themselves being forced out of the building by the waves of people crashing into them. "Somebody call the police and the fire department", Brax shouted as he came running down the stairs. When he bumped into Heath he explained about the petrol bombs that had been thrown throught the upstairs windows.

Brax made his way outside to help Palmer calm the crowds down, not noticing Ruby who was stranded by the juice counter unable to move. Suddenly without warning, a surfer who was making a run for the exit, knocked into Ruby, sending her crashing to the floor. She let out a screech as she felt glass tear through her flesh. She could feel the blood trickling down her arm. Pulling her arm close to her she beagn to cry and shake in fear as the memories from the house fire came flooding back. How was she going to get out? She couldn't see the exit and she was confident in her ability to make her way across the room with everybody gone. Feeling her way throught the gap in the counter she crawled behind it and leaned back against the wall. Crying when she realised she was trapped.

Outside, Indi and Dex searched through the crowd for Ruby but couldn't find her anywhere. They made their way back to April who was waiting for them by the lifeguard boat shed scowling when Heath and his friends stopped neary. "No luck?", she said. Indi and Dex shook their heads. "Well where could she be, everyone was rushed outside. Surely someone helped her out?", April said, hoping that Ruby had been helped to safety by someone kind. She sighed with relief when Heath and the boys walked off towards the rest of the mob. They scanned the crowd again but still couldnt find her. "Guys I'm gonna call Charlie she needs to know", Indi said pulling out her phone.

Back at Irene's house, Bianca's head was in a spin. How could she not have realised what was going on, with Charlie, with Brax? She felt like she had been living with her head up in the clouds. "So, what, what are you going to do?", she finally said after a long an tense silence. Charlie shrugged her shoulders and wiped away a tear that had fallen from her eye. "I don't know. I care about Brax so much. But I just, I can't trust him. He's hurt me too much", she said as the her tears escaped her again. Bianca leaned forward and placed her hand on top of Charlie's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "What hurts the most, is not the pain he's cause me, but the pain he's caused Ruby by his lies. He knew that she is the most important thing in the world to me and now I have to watch her struggle everyday and it just, it hurts me to see her like that", Charlie said wiping away her tears.

Bianca nodded at her to acknowledge the fact that she understood how Charlie felt. "Charlie I can't tell you what to do, it's not my place. But just know that, whatever you decide, I'll support you one hundred percent", Bianca said pulling her friend into a comforting hug. Charlie relished the feeling of having that support. Especially after the lectures she had received from Morag and Leah. It made a nice change. Pulling apart, Charlie thanked Bianca for listening and then made the best effort she could to straighten herself up. Just then she heard her phone ring and she picked up her handbag and pulled it out. Looking at the caller ID she told Bianca she had to take it.

"Hey Indi, is everything okay?", she asked as she waited for a response from the other end. Bianca watched as Charlie's face became serious. "Wait Indi calm down, what's going on?", she said. "Oh my God. I'll be right there", Charlie said as she shoved the phone back in her bag. Bianca placed a hand on Charlie's arm. "Hey what's wrong, what's going on?", she asked concerned that Ruby or April may be in trouble. Charlie looked at her with fear in her eyes. "There's been a petrol bomb attack on Angelo's. Everyone's been evacuated from the restaurant and the Surf Club but they can't find Ruby", she said her voice breaking as she spoke. "Oh God. Give me your keys I'll drive. You're in no fit state for this", she said taking Charlie's keys from her hand. Picking up her handbag Bianca and Charlie bolted out the door and headed for the off to find their loved ones.

Huddled behind the counter, Ruby had taken up the fetal position. The only thing she could do was cry. Suddenly, she felt somebodys arms reach under her and scoop her up. She let out a small scream, fearing it was Brodie or one of his Riverboy thugs. "Hey it's okay, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt ye", came the voice of the person who was lifting her from the ground. "Heath?", Ruby said recognising the voice but wanting confirmation so she could be sure. "Yeah it's me. Hold on I'm gonna get ye out", he said and then he carried her from behind the counter and made a dash for the exit. Once outside, he mad his way for one of the empty ambulances and got the attention of a paramedic.

"Hey mate, I need some help. She's cut her arm on glass on somethin'. I think it needs stitches", he said placing Ruby down on the edge of the ambulance door. "Heath", Ruby said reaching out for his hand. Noticing what Ruby was trying to do Heath edged his hand forward for her to grab. She took a hold of it and squeezed it tight. "Thank you", she said. Heath looked at her then down at their joined hands. "Yeah no worries", he said and then parted from her grasp and made his way back towards the crowd to let Brax know where Ruby was.

A few minutes after being called, Charlie and Bianca arrived at the scene of the incident. Jumping out of the car they made a run towards the Surf Club. They were stopped when Dex waved them down to the boat shed where he, April and Indi were still stood. Bianca sighed with relief when she saw that her baby sister was unharmed. "Have you found Ruby? Charlie asked, the concern etched across her face for her daughters safety. Sensing the urgency in her voice April answered her. "No. We've looked everywhere we can't find her. We're so sorry Charlie. We got seperated in the crowd during the evacuation". Charlie was about to break down into tears when she saw Brax running towards her.

"Charlie. Ruby's fine. She's over with the paramedics getting checked out", he said reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him and then thanked him before taking off to where the ambulances had parked. Charlie walked briskly through the crowd and sighed with relief when she spotted her daughter sitting with a paramedic. "Oh Rubes, thank God your okay", she said as she gave her daughter a long lingering kiss on the forehead. When she looked down she saw the paramedic administering stitiches to the cut on Ruby's arm. "Oh my God, what happened?", she asked as she surveyed the damage. "It's okay, I got knocked over in the commotion and cut my arm on some broken glass. I'm fine", Ruby said. Trying to hold back her tears.

"Really, cause you don't sound fine", Charlie replied stroking Ruby's hair. "I just, I felt so helpless you know? I mean, if Heath hadn't come back for me...", Ruby was cut off by Charlie who sounded confused. "Wait, Heath? Heath Braxton was the one who found you?", she asked. Ruby nodded her head. "If it wasn't for him who know what could have happened", she said. Charlie turned her head around and gazed at Brax who was watching her from a distance. When he told her Ruby had been found, she had just assumed he was the one who had found her. Then turning around she spotted Heath talking with some of the boys he was with and with a second glance she noticed the blood on his tank top. Turning her gaze back to Ruby she checked out her daughters arm and realised that Ruby was telling the truth.

"That's it", the paramdic said as he finished bandaging Ruby's arm. "Just keep the wound clean and change the bandage in a couple of days and it should be fine. Your local doctor can take the stitches out in about a week. Is everything else okay? Your leg isn't hurt or anything?", he asked. Ruby shook her head no, and once he was satisfied, he told Charlie that Ruby could go home. Helping her daughter up, Charlie guided Ruby through the crowds and back to Bianca and the gang. Then, they all headed for home.

A couple of hours later, Charlie was locking up the house and heading to bed when she decided to check on Ruby. Knocking on the door, she opened it to find her daughter sitting upright with her legs pulled up close to her chest. Charlie noticed the tears running down Ruby's face and she walked over to the bed and sat. "Hey, Rubes what's wrong?", she asked stroking her daughters hair. Sniffling, Ruby choked back her tears so she could speak. "I can't do this anymore Charlie", Ruby said, removing the dark glasses she used to cover her scarred eyes which were still healing from the house fire. "I can't live like this", she said to her eyes to emphasis the fact that being blind was tearing her apart. "I just, I can't do it anymore. I can't", she said and with those final words she broke down.

Bursting into tears at what Ruby had said, Charlie crawled into the bed beside her and engulfed her daughter in her arms. Holding her so close she felt she would never let go. Both Bucktons cried their hearts out. Ruby over the loss of a normal life and Charlie over the pain her daughter had to live with every day. But Charlie also cried out of fear. Never had she seen Ruby breakdown like this. It was like she had lost the will to carry on living and it scared Charlie. What if Ruby did something stupid? What if she took her own life because she felt living in a world of darkness wasn't living at all. How could she cope without her daughter in her life? She couldn't. Ruby was Charlie's heart and soul. Which was why Charlie was determind to make Ruby see the light at the end of a dark tunnel.

**Next Time:**

***Xavier learns that Casey has skipped town. Will he return? Who's going to break the news to Ruby?**

***Brax finds out who threw the petrol bombs and receives more threats. Tegan arrives to make him an offer he may be unable to refuse**

***Ruby stops Heath from getting involved in a beachside brawl and they share an intimate conversation. Has this bad boy discovered his soft spot?**

***Charlie and Bianca spot Heath and Ruby at the beach and Charlie worries that he's going to take advantage of her daughter in her vulnerable state**


	8. Chapter 8

As Romeo walked out of the surf, he spotted Xavier making his way down the beach looking looking rather tense. Walking up the towards him, he stopped halfway and stood his board up in the sand and then began to dry himself off with his towel. "Hey Xav. What's up? You look like you've got a lot on your mind", he said placing the towel around his shoulders. Xavier looked out at the surf, then back at Romeo, beating his hands together as his mind replayed the conversation he had just had with Cheryl Braxton. "I went around to Casey's house earlier", he trailed off. Romeo lowered his head to meet Xaviers gaze.

"And?", he said trying to push the conversation along. Xavier again looked out at the surf and then back at Romeo. "He's gone", he said. Romeo looked confused as he tried to make sense of what Xavier was saying. He had to admit to himself that his friend wasn't exactly the most intellectual person in the world. "Xav, what do mean he's gone?", he asked gesturing for Xavier to sit down with him. "I mean he's gone. He left town last night and according to his Mum, she doesn't think he's coming back", Xavier finally managed to say. He rubbed his hands off the side of his head. Frustrated at the situation he found himself in. "How am I going to tell Ruby? I mean as if she doesn't have enough going on without her boyfriend skipping town".

Romeo looked at Xavier and thought about everything he had just been told. He understood the predicament that Xavier was in. But he also knew that Ruby deserved to know the truth. Being honest, Romeo couldn't believe Casey would just leave like that. Of all the Braxtons, Casey was the most sincere of the lot. It didn't make sense how he could leave Ruby behind like that. "Xav, I know you don't want to be in this position. And I know it sucks that the responsibility has fallen on you. But Ruby needs to know the truth before she hears it second hand. It's the right thing to do", Romeo said, patting Xavier on the back as he stood up and grabbed his board. Xavier watched as Romeo made his way up the beach and headed for home. Looking back out at the ocean, he sighed, and braced himself for difficult conversation.

After the morning madness of Leah and VJ trying to get out on time for school and work, Charlie decided to busy herself by making breakfast for herself and Ruby. Just as she was about to call her daughter, she was stopped by a knock at the back door. Opening the door she was surprised to find Xavier standing on the other side. "Hey Xav. Is everything okay?", she asked with a smile. Xavier tensed up again, realising he was about to put a dampener on someone elses day. "Ah, is Ruby around? I kind of need to talk to her. It's important", he asked looking at Charlie who suddenly looked very serious. She looked Xavier square in the eye and crossed her arms across her chest. "Xav why don't you tell me what is and I'll decide whether or not it's worth upsettin Ruby over", she said, sensing that what Xavier had to say wasn't going to be pleasant.

Looking at his friends mother, he could tell that she wasn't going to let him speak to Ruby unless he spilled to her first. Scratching the side of his head he let out a deep breath and went for it. "Casey left town last night and we don't know if he's coming back. Like, ever", he said looking at Charlie as she placed her head in her hands and let out a frustrated groan. "Charlie, what's going on?", came Ruby's voice. Startled, Charlie looked up to find her daughter standing by the living room doorway using the frame as a guide to help her make her way into the kitchen. "Rubes, I thought you were sleeping", Charlie said as she walked over to Ruby and helped her to find the stool by the kitchen table.

"Okay, I know I'm blind but I can sense that you're hiding something so out with it", Ruby said clearly irritated that people kept trying to protect her from everything. Charlie turned back towards the door and looked at Xavier who mouthed that he was going to leave her to it. Turning back to her daughter, Charlie went to Ruby's side and took a hold of her hand. "Rubes, Casey left town. Last night", she said as gently as she could. Stroking her daughters hand, Charlie waited for Ruby to cry or react. Instead, Ruby just stood up and silently made her back to her room using everything she could touch to guide her. Charlie watched on and sighed. A reaction would have been better than nothing. Now she was more worried than ever.

Brax stood in the middle of Angelo's and surveyed the damage from the petrol bomb attack. The fire chief had told him that he was lucky. There was only minor damage that could be repaired with some redecorating and some furniture replacement. But to Brax, he felt like the unluckiest guy on the planet. Bending down,he picked up a burnt out menu off the ground, a symbol of where his life was at that point. Brax was broken from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming from the stairs. His eyes widened when his ex-girlfriend Tegan walked throught the restaurant door.

"Wow, Brodie and the boys really did a job on this place", she said gazing around at the carnage. She crossed her arms and smiled at Brax who was looking less than impressed to see her. "How do you know it was the boys who did this?", he asked, anger present in his voice as he spoke. Tegan laughed at him and then walked over to one of the more stable looking couches and sat down. "Brodie and the boys came to our old boozer last night looking pretty happy with themselves. Said something about firing a rat out of it's hole", she said crossing her legs to show them off in her skimpy combat skirt. "You know me, I put two and two together and came up with an ex Riverboy who slept with a copper and recently had his restaurant almost burned to a cinder. Only one man came to mind", she said smirking when she saw the angry Brax beginning to make his appearance.

"What do you want Tegan?", he asked, although he really didn't care too much for her answer. She looked up at him and then leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her head on her hand. "I heard about the boys planning their "revenge" or whatever on you, so, I've come here to make you an offer. From Jake", she said. Knowing that Brax and Jake were enemies, Tegan relished the idea of Brax having to swallow his pride and except an offer a from a man he spent most of his time mocking. "Whatever it is the answers no. So just, leave, Tegan, alright. Just go", he said raising his hand towards the door. Tegan stood up and walked over to Brax and stood toe to toe with him. So close their bodies touched. She laughed in his face at what he had said.

"Brax, Brax, Brax. No offense, but you're really in no position to be turning away help from anyone. I mean, Brodie and the boys, they really want to hurt you. And I don't see Heath or his mates lining up to defend you", she said with a smirk on her face. Brax glared down at her. She was beginning to touch a nerve. Tegan leaned in against him and raised herself up on her toes so she could whisper in his ear. "Not even you little girlfriend cares enough about you to give a stuff whether you live or die", she said, almost with a gleeful tone. Brax's anger boiled over and he pushed Tegan sending her flying onto the couch opposite where they were standing. Tegan laughed hysterically as she picked herself up.

"Now there's the Brax we all know and love", she remarked as she picked up her handbag and straightened herself up. Reaching into her bag she pulled out a piece of paper and put it on the table next to Brax. "Jake's willing to make a deal with you. Him and his boys will protect you. But they want something in return", she said. With those parting words Tegan made a sarcastic salut at Brax and left. Looking down at the piece of paper, Brax picked up one of the damaged chairs and flung it at the wall. He had finally hit rock bottom. Picking up the piece of paper he stuffed it in his pocket and left Angelo's.

Pulling up outside the Surf Club, Charlie turned off the engine and turned to look at Ruby. "Rubes, I have to go get a statement from Palmer about the fire. Do you want to come with me or do you want to wait here in the car?", she asked. Ruby turned her head in the direction of her mothers voice and picked up her cane off the seat beside her. "Is it alright if I sit outside? I kind of want to listen to the ocean and get some sun", she said waiting for a respone. Charlie smiled, glad that Ruby was, at least, attempting to get back out into civilization. "Yeah of course", she said. Getting out of the car, Charlie walked around to the far side and held the door open for Ruby.

Unfolding her cane, Ruby used it to feel out her surroundings before making her move. Charlie took Ruby's hand and placed it on her shoulder, allowing her daughter to use it as her guide. To steer her in the right direction. Once they reached the ouside tables of the Surf Club, Charlie pulled out a chair for Ruby to sit on, and once she felt everything was okay, she made her way inside to find Palmer. Basking in the feel of the warm sun on her skin and the sound of the waves washing up against the sand, Ruby began to relax. That was until her nearly sensitive hearing, picked up the sound of a familiar voice and a stranger exchanging heated words a few feet away.

Picking up her cane again, she stood up and tried to make out what direction the voices were coming from. Once she was confident in which direction to go in, she slowly made her way towards the commotion. Using the fencing in front of the Surf Club towards the beach to help guide her. Listening to the voices she could hear how close she was getting and then heard just how hot this argument was getting. "You better watch it Paulie. I won't think twice about rearrangin' your face". As Ruby got closer, she stopped, hearing the sound of at least two people pushing and shoving each other. "Your a dead man Braxton".

Now Ruby was certain she knew who it was. "HEATH STOP IT", she shouted, causing the middle Braxton to stop mid fight and turn towards the voice shouting at him. "Oi shove off Stevie Wonder", Paulie shouted back. Heath turned around and shoved Paulie onto the hood of his truck. "Heath please, just walk away before you get yourself in more trouble", Ruby pleaded. Heath glared at Paulie, his eyes wild with anger. Eventually, he backed off and walked over to the fence to calm himself down. Paulie laughed and stood up making his way over to Ruby. He began to wave his hands in front of her face, mocking her disability.

"Can ye see me now? What about now?", he said laughing when he saw a tear roll down Ruby's cheek. Heath heard Paulie and made a run for him. Standing between Paulie and Ruby. "Leave her alone", he said pushing Paulie away. Turning around he placed his hand on Ruby's arm and led her away. Once they reached the outside seating area of the Surf Club, Heath said his goodbyes and made for the beach. "Wait", Ruby said, stopping Heath in his tracks, "If your going to the beach, please, take me with you". Heath stood looking at her, his hands on his hands resting on his sides. Turning and gazing at the surf, he turned back and looked at Ruby, rubbing his head. "Alright come on", he said walking up to her and linkin her arm taking her down to the beach.

Once they were on the beach, Ruby folded up her cane and sat down. Heath sat next to her and stared out at the surf. He felt awkward just sitting quietly with another person. Normally he was either having a booze fest with his mates or chatting up random girls on the beach. "You know we can have a conversation. I know it's not something you and your "buddies" usually do but I find it quite fun", Ruby said trying to break the silence. Heath looked at her slightly miffed. "What is it with you lot. You all think you know me. You know nothin' about me", he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. Ruby raised her eyebrow thinking about what Heath said.

"You know, you're right. I don't know anything about you. But maybe that's because you don't let anyone get to know you. You just throw your weight around and hope nobody gets too close", Ruby said placing her cane down beside her. "Am I right?", she asked waiting to see what excuse Heath was going to come up with. However she was prepared for what was for how serious he would get. "My Dad walked out on us when we were kids. Brax, he felt obligated to take on the fatherky role and look after us. Case was just a little kid so Mum spent most of her time dealin' with him. I was always an after thought", he said. Heath could feel the years of surpressed emotion building up inside as he spoke. Ruby thought about what he was saying and slowly began to piece everything together.

"So you started acting out to get attention because if you didn't you'd just fade into the background", she said understanding Heaths situation. "When Brax became a "legend", Heath said sarcastically, "We all started hanging around the surf more and more. Brax, the boys, we were like a brotherhood. Finally I was part of somethin' where I didn't have to be different to be noticed", he finished. Ruby symapthised with Heath. It must have been hard for him being the middle child in a broken family. She laughed to herself. "You know it's amazing. I see people more clearly now that I'm blind than I ever did when I could see", she said twisting the bracelet on her arm.

"So why do your wear those sunglasses? I mean it's not like people don't know your blind", he asked looking at her curiously. Ruby laughed. It had been anyone else who asked that question she would have thought they were being insensitive. But coming from Heath, she knew it was just his odd way of being serious. She pointed towards her eyes. "I have scarring around my eyes from the stray debris from the explosion in the fire. I guess when I wear them, I feel like less of a freak", she said. Heath reached up and went to remove the sunglasses. Ruby hesitated at first but then she allowed him to continue. Taking them off, Brax looked Ruby in the eyes and for the first time since he'd known her. He saw her. Actually saw her. "You're not a freak Ruby", he said.

Walking out of the Surf Club, Charlie and Bianca were having a brief catch up. Bianca was keen to make sure her friend was okay. When they reached the outdoor seating area Charlie noticed that Ruby was nowhere to be found. "I thought you said Ruby was outside", Bianca said scanning the area. "She was. I left her sitting right here", Charlie said sounding slightly panicked. Bianca gripped her friends are to calm her down. "Hey calm down, I'm sure she's fine. She probably walked down to the beach", she said reassuringly. Charlie nodded and they walked over to the fence and surveyed the beach.

"Oh my God", Bianca said "Is that Ruby...and Heath Braxton?", she said pointing in their direction. Charlie spotted them and was about to storm down to where they were and tell Heath where to go when Bianca stopped her. "Charlie look", Bianca said. Both women stared on and watched as Heath put Ruby's sunglasses back on and helped her to her feet. Walking back up the pathway, Heath grinned at Charlie. "G'day Sergeant Buckton", he said. Charlie glared at him. "G'day Heath", she replied coldly. Heath let out a small laugh. Grabbing Ruby's hand off his shoulder, he placed it in Charlie's hand. "Check ye later Rubes", he said and walked off to his truck.

"Right well I'll leave you guys to it. I'll call you later", Bianca said waving as she walked off in the direction of Irene's house. Charlie pulled Ruby close to her and put an arm around her daughters shoulders as they walked back towards the car. "We were just talking Charlie", Ruby said as if reading her mother's mind. "Okay, but just, be careful. Guys like Heath, they're bad news", Charlie said. Ruby stopped in her tracks. "Guys like Heath? What about guys like Brax? because the last time I checked they were in the same boat", Ruby said and opened the door, getting into the car. Charlie stood there, silent. What started off as Charlie trying to gove Ruby advice and protect her, had turned into Ruby cutting Charlie down to size for being a hypocrite. Things in Charlie's life had really changed over the last few months. And from this point of view, Charlie knew it wasn't for the best.

**Next Time:**

***Charlie noticies a change in her daughters mood and although happy, worries that it may having something to do with the time she's spending with Heath**

***Brax tells Charlie that the Riverboys are planning something, are they in danger?**

***Heath finds himself concerned with Ruby's wellbeing. Is he the next Braxton to fall for a Buckton?**

***Morag gives Brax an ultimatum, but could it be too late for him to make the right decision**


	9. Chapter 9

Charlie awoke the following morning ready for work, and was surpised to find Ruby up out of bed and making herself breakfast. Although every day tasks were more difficult for Ruby to carry out, with the proper strategies and careful planning, she and Charlie had come up with ways for her to carry on as normal around the house. Or at least as normal as possible. Which made tasks such as making breakfast easier and more efficient. It also meant Ruby didn't have to depend on Charlie or Leah to prepare meals for her throughtout the day. The layout in the house was exactly the same and the rule was, when something in the kitchen was used, it was put back in its original place and nowehere else.

Even the pantry was layed out in a very specific way. At first it was hard for Leah and VJ to adjust to the way Charlie had configured the house, but once they realised that the system worked for Ruby they were happy to go along with. After all, they didn't have it as difficult as she did. Leah was actually quite surprised with the positive effect it had on VJ. Now he put away his school bag and surf board out of the way and his room was spotless. Everything with it's on place. He felt it was something he could do to help Ruby. Rather than risk having her falling over his stuff all over the house. He was almost like a new young man. As he told hid mum, Ruby was like a big sister to him, he wanted her to feel comfortable at home.

Watching from the living room doorway, Charlie watched in amazement at the way in which her daughter had learned to make breakfast in an effective manner. To measure out the amount of milk that went into her cereal, Ruby would place her finger in the bowl to mark out the level at which to stop pouring. When making a pot of coffee, Ruby would hold a spoon inside the pot as she poured the hot water in to it and once she felt the spoon and the water connect, she knew to stop pouring. It was actually quite ingenuious, the ways in which she had adapted to everything. It made Charlie incredibly proud of her. Watching Ruby place the cereal bowl, the coffee pot and a cup onto a tray, she decided to make her presence know in case she startled her daughter and caused an accident.

"Morning Rubes", she said walking up to the fridge and removing a fresh yogurt and the bowl of fruit salad Leah had prepared this morning before work. Walking over to the counter she picked up a bowl poured some of the fruit mix and yogurt into the bowl and mixed them together. "Hey, I made a fresh pot of coffee. You want some?", she asked. "Yeah", Charlie replied placing another cup and her bowl of fruit on the tray. Picking it up she walked behind Ruby as they made their way into the living room to sit down. "You know, I've missed that", Charlie said as she poured out a coffee for herself and for Ruby. Chewing her cereal, Ruby swallowed and responded to her mothers random remark. "Missed what", she asked with a slight laugh.

"That smile on your face", Charlie said beaming at the happy expression on her daughters face. She grabbed a hold of Ruby's hand and gave it a squeeze. "For a while there I thought I'd never see it again", she said with a somewhat sad tone in her voice. Ruby put down her spoon and began to laugh. Charlie looked at her daughter curiously. "You know, never in my wildest, most obscene dreams, would I ever have imagined that Heath Braxton would be responsible for it", Ruby said, sounding almost grateful. Charlie flinched when Ruby mentioned Heath Braxton. Anyone who knew Charlie, knew she had issues with the middle Braxton. Especially now that he was hanging around her daughter. "It's weird, in the last couple of days I've gotten to know this whole other person. Someone I would never have thought existed before", Ruby finished as she picked up her spoon and continued to eat.

Charlie sat in silence, almost forgetting to breath as she listened to what Ruby was saying. There it was. What Charlie had feared since the day she had spotted Heath and Ruby on the beach together. Her daughter was forming some sort of a relationship with the middle, most troubled and unstable Braxton and she didn't like it at all. Ever since they had arrived, Heath had always made it clear that he was the least interested in dropping his Riverboy persona. In fact he played it up. Which was what made Charlie take an instant dislinking to him and any chance of a sense of trust forming between them. At that moment all she wanted to do was pull Ruby into her arms and wrap her in cotton wool and keep her away from Heath and his lifestyle.

"Rubes, I know the last thing you want to hear is me lecturing you on Heath and what he's capable of", Ruby was about to interrupt Charlie when she was stopped by her mother placing a finger on her lips to stop her from talking, "BUT, I also know from bitter experience that whenever I do lecture you, you tend to just go against what I say anways. So what I will say, actually more what I will ask of you, is that you promise me you'll be careful...and that you'll keep your guard up?", Charlie asked, hopeful that Ruby had taken what she had said into consideration. Gripping her mothers hand, Ruby nodded her head, "Okay, I promise", she said. With that conversation over and done with both the Buckton women returned to eating their breakfasts.

Brax bounded up the stairs and into Angelo's, stopping the reconstruction work and sending the crew on an early lunch break. Walking up to the counter he stopped, leaning his on top of it and lowering his head, trying to regulate his breathing. He was visibly flustered and he couldn't let anyone see him like that for fear of it raising questions. Especially not the cops who were still hanging around. Picking up a bottle of bourbon from a box of deliveries, he picked up a shot glass and filled it up. Picking it up he knocked it back and then poured himself another. Then, reaching into his pocket he removed something, something that was covered in an old red cloth, and placed it on the lower counter next to the till and he stood there looking at it.

"Mr. Braxton. I would say how lovely it is to see you again but you and I both know that I have a particular distain for men like you. So don't expect this to be a social call", Morag said before Bax had a chance to try and use one of his witty remarks to break the tension. Looking up, he was startled by Morag's appearance, so leaning into the counter he moved the object he had placed next to the till, in behind it. "Mornin' Morag. What can I do for you?, Tie a noose around my neck and let you kick the chair from under me?", he said with a grin on his face, trying to defuse the situation. Morag scowled at him as she sat on one of the new bar stools. "Oh don't tempt me. And it's Mrs. Bellingham or Buckton to you. We are not family and we never will be so I expect you to treat me with the same manners you would treat your business associates with. The one's on the right side of the law that is", she said glaring at Brax with a hint satisfaction when she succeeded in wiping the grin of his face.

"What do you want? If this isn't a social call then why are you here?", he asked, his own patience running out. Morag raised an eyebrow at him and couldn't help but sense that Brax was very much aware of what she herself had just been informed of. Years of working as a judge had helped her develop almost like a sixth sense. She knew when people were lying or hiding something. Even if she didn't ask them outright what it was. "I bumped into an old friend of yours. A woman by the name of Tegan Callaghan. Colourful girl I must say. She told me some interesting, yet worrying news about Brodie Upton and his friends looking for revenge", she said her facial expressions becoming dark and almsot menacing as she remembered the hurt and the damage they had cause to her family.

"Look, the boys, it's me they want. They don't want anything else, just me. So you've got nothin' to worry about eh", he said trying to give her his hardest look. Unfortunantly for Brax, he was trying to fool the wrong person. As hard as he was or liked to believe he was a tough guy, Morag Bellingham was stronger, tougher and smarter and had many, many more years of experience and wisdom over Darryl Braxton. Something she wanted him to be very much aware of. "On the contrary Mr. Braxton. You see I've dealt with your kind before and I know for a fact that while they may want you dead, if they succeed they will go after everyone and everything else you have so much as touched in your lifetime. They will bring pain and misery and I for one and not prepared to sit back and let my family suffer any longer", she said slamming her handbag down on the counter top.

"What are ye doin'?", he asked as he watched Morag remove some papers and a pen. She flung them at him and watched him as he let them hit against his chest and fall to his hands. "I'm giving you a choice. Although one which you probably won't agree with it. But for the sake of others and your life, it's in your best interest to g along with it", she said zipping back up her handbag se looked at Brax who looked very confused. "Oh yeah what's that?", he said leaning his hands against the counter so that he was in closer contact with Morag. "You confess everything you've done to the police. The outcome, based on my experience as a judge, you will more than likely serve a hefty sentence. However if you comply, I will do my best to get you a more lenient sentence even if it is against my better judgement", Morag said raising her eyebrow to indicate the just how serious she was being. "And if I don't?". Brax asked. Morag glared at him.

"If you don't Mr. Braxton your only other choice is to go up against your "boys". However you will lose and you will put the lives of those you care about at greater risk", she said. Picking up her handbag, Morag stood up and waited for Brax to agree. Shaking his head Brax began to tap his fingers off the counter. "I can't do it. It's too late", he said, his voice breaking as he thought about the reason why he couldn't go to the police. Morag leaned against the counter snarled at Brax. "You have just made a very big mistake", she said. And with that she left. Leaving Brax to contemplate just how deep he was in all this.

Looking back down at the counter he removed the cloth covered item from behind the till and placed it on the counter top. He unwrapped it to reveal a silver .357 magnum revolver handgun. Brax picked up the weapon and gazed over it. Picking up the bottle of bourbon, he poured himself another shot. Placing the gun back down and wrapping it up he put it in the security box and locked it up. Then picking up the shot of bourbon, he lowered and let the burning sensation settle. Picking up the keys of the restaurant he made his way downstairs to attend to other business. Walking along the side of the restaurant Brax felt two hands shove him up against the wall. Raising his head, he saw Heath standing before him with his two hands pinning him to the side of the Surf Club.

"Well done mate", Heath said getting his face right up against Brax's. "What are ye talkin' about Heath?", he asked pushing his brothers hands off him and straightening up his shirt. "I'm talkin' about you makin' a deal Jake and his boys to help you get Brodie and the boys off you back. Only thing is, now Brodie and the boys know and they're takin' their revenge plot one step further", he said getting in Brax's face and shouting at him. Brax's face became more serious and he looked Heath square in the eye wanting nothing more than to know what this revenge plot entailed. "Wait, how do they know, what are they plannin'?", he asked hoping Heath would be generous enough to share with him.

"I dunno who told 'em. All I know is that they plan on finishin' the job they started on Casey and Ruby then they're comin' after you. Don't worry bout your copper girlfriend. They no better than to try and mess with law enforcers. Unlike some", Heath spat as scratched the facial hair under his chin. "Look, I know everythin' is is messed up right now but trust me eh. I'm workin' on it. I'm gonna sort all this out", Brax said placing a hand on his brothers shoulder. Heath swotted it away and began walking towards the beach. Turning around he looked at his older brother and gave him angry look, "Yeah whatever Brax. Talk means nothin'. What happens to the rest of us if Brodie and the boys decide to get in before you have a chance to "sort it all out"?", Heath said using air quotes to convey his sarcasm. "We might be able to look after ourselves but Case and Ruby, that's a whole other game", he said and then walked away. Leaving Brax with an even more complicated situation to try and handle.

After making his down to the beach, Heath was about to go for a surf, when he spotted Ruby sitting on the sand, Jacob her puppy who was now beginning to get even bigger, was laying down beside her. Heath walked up to her and laughed out loud to get her attention. "You know if we keep meetin' like this people are gonna start thinkin' your stalkin' me", he try to play off his charm on the young Buckton who laughed to herself as her focus remaind on staring straight ahead. "That's rich coming from a guys who just went out of his way to come over and talk to me. If anybodys doing the staking it's you", she said and then smiled a big cheeky grin.

Heath smiled back. Feeling stupid since she couldn't actually see it. Then his smile faded and he scratched the side of his head. Conflicted over whether or not to tell Ruby about Brodie's threats. But he knew he had to. It wasn't fair on her to be walking around carefree when the fact of the matter remained, she was in serious danger. "Look Rubes, I dunno how wo say this to ye so I'm just gonna come out with it. Brodes and the boys have been makin threats against Brax and Case...and you", he said. He watched as he saw the fear creep into Ruby's smile as it too began to fade. "Great, now that I'm blind I might as well just stand out in the open wearing a target mark around my chest", she said as tears began to fall down her cheeks. Heath dug his Surf Board into the sand and sat down next to Ruby. The side the protective young dog wasn't sitting on.

"Ye know Rubes, ye don't have to be a victim or helpless in all this. You can learn to defend yourself and adapt", he said. Ruby laughed, "Adapt to what?", she said wiping away her tears. "To your surroundin's. You don't have to be strong or tough to defend yourself. If your smart and you know your surroundin's especially in the dark, you can come out on top", he said. Ruby thought about what he was saying and suddenly, it was like a lightbulb going off. She turned her focus to the direction of Heath's voice and nodded. Then turned er head back towards the sound of the waves. Listening intently to what Heath was saying.

That night, Ruby was sitting in the living room listening to music when she heard her mother arrive home from work. "Charlie", she called out. "Yeah it's me", Charlie responded entering the living room and placing her bag and jacket on the table before crossing the room to the couch and sitting down next to her daughter. "So how was your day", she asked placing a quick kiss on Ruby's forehead. Ruby shrugged her shoulders "It was fine", she said. Charlie gazed at Ruby and took in her daughters empty expression. "Come on Rubes I'm a cop. You'll to lie better than that to fool me", she said as twirled a strand of Rubys hair around her fingers.

"Heath bumped into me on the beach and made it pretty clear that Brodie and his boys were out to finish the job they started on me and Casey", she said. Charlie sat up alarmed at the statement that the Riverboys were gonna take care of her daughter. "What, how does he know, is he sure?", she asked grasping both of her daughters hands in her own. "Yep, he's pretty sure", Ruby replied. She chewed on her bottom lip, thinking over whether or not to tell Charlie the next part but knowing it would be for the best. "Heath has offered to help me learn some self defence tactics", she said but before she could finish Charlie cut her off. "No way. Forget it. If you want to learn self defence tactics I can get you an instructor". Ruby interrupted Charlie. Cutting her off with a harsher tone.

"Charlie PLEASE. For once would you look past the fact it's Heath Braxton and just trust him on this. He knows Brodie and the Riverboys, he's know how they operate. He can help me better than any instructor could", she shouted. Tears began to fall from Rubys eyes. "I'm tired of living with this fear every day. Not knowing when they're going to strike again. I just, I want to fell like I can at least try and defend myself. I don't want to be the victi anymore", she finished. The tears falling faster and more frequently. Pulling Ruby into her arms, Charlie held her tight. Wanting to protect her as best she could. But knowing Ruby was right. She needed to be able to defend herself if Charlie cound't be there to do it for her. Then came the word she thought she would never say where Heath Braxton was concerend "Okay", she agreed.

**Next Time:**

***Ruby is finally ready to give her statement to the police, but suffers a panic attack when she tries to recount "all the details" of the fire that night**

***Inspector Joyce reprimands Charlie for trying to be a cop and a mother. Is she off the case?**

***Charlie decides it's time she talk to Heath. Can he convince her that he has Ruby's best interest at heart? Or is Charlie right to be worried for her daughters wellbeing?**

***With Casey gone A.W.O.L, is the case against the Riverboys about to fall apart?**


	10. Chapter 10

Charlie sat in her office, feeling exhausted. Not by work, but by life in general. As if the stresses and the ordeals of the last few weeks were just hitting her now, and her body was beginning to feel it. She needed a break, a long one at that. All she craved at that moment was time away from everything and everyone. From, work, her boss, the Riverboys, her friends and especially Brax. Although she would never openly admit it, Charlie found it difficult being so near him, knowing that they could be together because of the risk that was involved. Not just for them, but for everyone else around them. Innocent people who didnt deserve to be harmed. Just as Charlie was beginning to clear her head and get back down to her paper work, she was interrupted by a knocking on her office door and the appearance of Constable Watson.

"Charlie, Inspector Joyce wants you out here. It's kind of urgent business", Watson said as she stood holding the door open with her other arm resting on the door frame. Charlie sighed, closing one file, she picked up another and then turned to her collegue. "Look Watson whatever is tell him I'm busy. This paper work is going to finish itself", Charlie said and then turned back to the file in front of her and began writing. Watson stood up straighter and placed her hands in her pockets deciding to continue with caution. "Charlie, Ruby's waiting outside with Morag to give her statement. Joyce is prepping her for the interview now", Watson finished and grimaced slightly when she saw that protective mother look wash over Charlie as she slammed the file shut and rushed out the door. Watson followed suit.

As she exited her office, Charlie walked straight over to the main desk where Morag was standing. "Morag, what are you doing here? We agreed that Ruby wasn't going to give her statement until the time was right", Charlie said in a hushed voice. Clearly annoyed that her step mother had gone over her head like this. "Oh I'm aware of that. Unfortunantly you neglected to ask Ruby when that would be and she has taken it upon herself to take action. She wants to this now and I'm here to support her. As a family member and as a her lawyer", Morag replied knowing full well that when Charlie switched on to protective mother mode she was like a ferocious lioness, waiting to pounce on anyone that could cause her child any hurt or harm.

Looking into Morag's eyes Charlie could see that she only had Ruby's best interest at heart and was well aware that Morag would never alow Ruby to do something without making the young girl think it through first. However Ruby also had an extremely stubborn streak just like her mother, and when her mind was made up, there was no changing it. Even if Morag wanted to. Turning her gaze to the seats outside her office, Charlie saw Ruby sitting down, her cane gripped in both hands fully extended as she waited to be called into the interview room. Crossing the room, Charlie sat down beside Ruby and took her daughters hand in her own. "Rubes are you sure you want to do this now. Because you don't have to. We can rearrange it and I can take you home. There's no rush", Charlie said as she stroked her daughter's arm encouragingly.

"Charlie, it's okay. I want to do this now. I can't keep putting it off forever", Ruby replied squeezing her mothers hand as she stared at the blackness straight ahead. Knowing from memory where the interview room was positioned from where she was sitting. "Okay", Charlie said as she ran her fingers through Ruby's long wavy hair. Just as Charlie's anxiety began to subside, Inspector Joyce appeared from the interview room. "Ms. Buckton, we're ready for you now", he said as he stood by the door with a file in his hand waiting for the Sergeants daughter to makeher move. Nodding her head, Ruby stood up and lowered her cane to the ground. Charlie linked her daughter's arm through her own and guided Ruby across the station, passed her superior officer and into the interview room followed closely by Morag. Once inside the Inspector closed the door and sat down opposite Ruby.

"Okay, Ruby, why don't you start at the beginning, take us through the events of the night as best you can", Inspector Joyce said as he removed a pen from his shirt pocket and prepared to write down any important detail. Ruby's shoulders tensed up a little as the reality of what she was about to do finally registered in her mind. After a minute she felt the gentle hand of her mother resting upon her shoulder, giving it an encouraging squeeze and then lowering to reach for her hand. Taking in a deep breath, Ruby revised the night, more correctly the "story" that Morag, Charlie and Brax had come up with in order to save Charlie's career and to keep everybody safe. Although deep down, Charlie also wanted to keep Brax out of jail as she knew what the other inmates would do to him for being involved with a cop while running a gang.

"I had gone around to Casey, my boyfriends house, that night. I was going to help him study for a make up exam he had coming up. When I arrived, his brother Heath was there. But he left a couple of minutes later to drive their mum to some poker game", Ruby said licking her lips to moisten them as she could fell them drying up. Inspector Joyce jotted down the details and then looked up at Ruby. "When did things start to go wrong?", he asked, wanting to push the interview along to the heavier facts. Ruby rubbed her brow and then grabbed a hold of Charlie's hand, squeezing out her nervousness with a tight grip. This didn't go unnoticed by Charlie, Morag or indeed even Constable Watson.

"A couple of hours after I arrived, when it was dark out, Casey and I heard noises coming from outside. Case, he just thought it was mum staggering home drunk from the poker, so he got up to go out and help her and I went with him. His mum is hard to handle at the best of times I thought he could use some help", Ruby explained. The Inspector wrote down what Ruby said and then returned his focus to the young girl. "What happened when you went outside?", he asked her as he gazed between Ruby and Morag, who he knew was acting as her lawyer. "When we got outside, we looked around but couldn't see anyone, so Casey walked out onto the street to see if he could see anything. That's when I felt someone grab me from behind. They placed their hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming", Ruby managed as she felt the tears beginning to form.

"When Casey saw me he tried to run to me but two guys, I couldn't see their faces, the grabbed him and tackled him to the ground. They picked him up and they put both of us in the back of a van and they took off", she continued. Inspector Joyce eyed Ruby curiously. She seemed extremely nervous, but he out it down to stress and the fact that she'd only recently survived a vicious attack with her life. It was understandable that she would be shaky. "Ruby, we know from talking to the paramedics who arrived at the incident that Casey's brothers and your mother and grandmother were at the scene. How did they know where to find you?", Joyce asked. Wondering how one of his own officers knew where to go. Charlie stiffened when she realised that Joyce was trying to catch her out.

"The guy who was leading the whole thing, he kept making phone calls to Brax, Darryl Braxton, taunting him about holding me and Case hostage. At one point some of the other guys were out riding their dirt bikes around the same area that Heath rides his. I guess when he heard the noise in the background he put two and two together", Ruby said, rather convincingly much to the relief of both Morag and Charlie. "What happened then?", the Inspector asked as he returned to writing down his notes. Ruby hesitated for a moment. Knowing that she was about to talk about the most horrific part of the whole ordeal.

"After a while the boys locked me and Casey upstairs. It was and hour before they returned. When they did Casey tried to tackle one of the guys but they ganged up on him and fought back. They dragged him downstair and when I tried to follow the guy who was in charge, he hit me pretty hard and I fell to the floor. Everything went black after that, I guess I lost consciousness", Ruby said her voice beginning to break as the tears began to streak down her face. Raising her hand to her face Ruby removed her sunglasses to reveal her scared eyes. Amazingly to Watson and Joyce, only for the scaring around Ruby's eyes no one would guess she was blind just from looking at her. Although in their job they had seen some pretty disturbing things so this seemed minimal to them. Unlike to Ruby or her peers.

"When I came around, the whole place was covered in smoke. I could barely breath", she said her tears falling harder. "I walked out of the room to look for Casey. I checked...I checked all the rooms and when I opened one of the doors there was... a small explosion and I...I remember feeling like I'd... like I'd been hit in the eyes... by... by shattered glass it hurt that much. It's the last time I remember being able to see", Ruby tried to get out between breaths. Her breathing was becoming heavy and rapid. She clutched her chest as if trying to relieve it of the pressure she felt being placed on it. Charlie rubbed Ruby's back and said her name trying to get her daughters attention but Ruby's just kept struggling to breath.

"Rubes, Ruby", she said as she stroked Ruby's hair and clutched her daughters hand close to her own chest. "Okay that's enough we're done", Charlie said. Inspector Joyce nodded and stood up. "Okay, we'll take a break an continue when Ms. Buckton has calmed down and had time to gather her thoughts", he said as made his way for the door. "NO!", Charlie responded forcefully. "No were done now", she said and returned her attention back to her daughter who's breathing was slowly beginning to regulate itself. Joyced inhaled a deep breath and looked at Watson who seemed concerned for collegues daughter. With that he turned on his heel and walked out of the interview room.

After a couple of minutes, Charlie, Morag and a tired looking Ruby room emerged from the room. Morag said her goodbyes and told Charlie she would take Ruby home and get her settled. Once they made their exit, Charlie was deflated when she heard the stern voice of her superior officer saying her name from her office. Turning around Charlie walked into her office and Joyce closed the door with a slam. "How dare you undermind me during my interview", he said his hand holding firm on his hips, "My daughter was having an anxiety attack. There was no way I would allow any interview to continue in that situation. Especially not when it's my child", Charlie said, defending her actions. Joyce crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the Sergeant.

"You're right", Joyce said and Charlie nodded her head in relief as sat against the edge of the desk. "Which is why you're off the case", he said as he made his way for the door. Charlie stood up and turned to him. "With all due respect sir I don't think that's necessary", she tried to reason with him. "I'm sorry Sergeant but you have too much of an emotional connection to this case. I have no choice but to remove you from further investigations. Although with that young Braxton kid gone AWOL we may not have a case at all", Joyce said and then he walked out of the office leaving Charlie on her own. Sitting down at her desk Charlie placed her elbows on the table and placed her head in her hands. Watson walked in and placed a file in the cabinat. Sitting back Charlie looked at her work partner and sighed.

"Why do we do this job?", she asked as Watson stood by her desk. Looking down at her bosses desk, she tapped at one of the photo frames. "That's why", she said and then returned to her work station outside. Charlie sat there for a moment then sitting up she picked up the frame Watson tapped at and gazed at the picture inside. She rand finger over the image of her daughter and smiled. Realising why it was she continued to work the job she did. She did it to keep people safe. But more importantly she did it to keep Ruby safe. Which was one of the main reasons why she became a police officer in the first place. Resting against her chair she smiled. One of these she would need to thank Watson for keeping her sane.

The next day Charlie watched from a distance as Heath and Ruby discussed self-defence tactics. Trying to come up with ways that were suitable for Ruby's situation. Heath gazed up towards the Surf Club and spotted Charlie watching them. Making his excuses he bounded up the sand towards where she was standing and gave her a cheeky smile, knowing it would give her a rise. "G'day Buckton. It's unusual for you to be checkin' me out on informal business. You finally realised who the better Braxton is eh", he said, his grin growing wider. Charlie glared at Heath, her death stare almost piercing through him. Sha gazed at Ruby. Her focus lingering on her daughter for a moment before returning her stare to her least favourite Braxton.

"I don't know why you're hanging around Ruby. The idea actually perifies me. But she see's something in you. I don't know what that could be but whatever it is it's put a smile abck on her face", Charlie said almost having to force the words. "But I am warning you Heath. If you're just doing this to mess with Ruby or get back at me and you hurt her, I will hunt you down and I will kill you with my bear hands", she said spiiting the words out like venom. Heath gazed down at her rubbing his beard with his hand. "You know that's not a very nice way to thank someone for saving your daughters life. Would it have made a difference if it had been Brax", he said purposely trying to wind Charlie up because of how she talking to him. At the mention of Brax's name, Charlie's face contorted.

"See that's what I thought", Heath said laughing and pointing at Charlie's facial expression which said more than words ever could. "If you want start lecturing a Braxton not being trustworthy you might want to start lookin' a little closer to who's been in your underwear, officer", Heath said and then made his way back down the sand to where Ruby was sitting waiting for him. Charlie watched as Heath walked away, a tear escaping her as the sting of his words. Wiping it away, she glanced in Ruby's direction and then made her way into the Surf Club to meet up with Bianca. Hoping that she wouldn't bump into Brax while she was there.

An hour had passed and Ruby and Heath were talking when Heath spotted a dodgy looking character staring at him from the boat shed next to the Surf Club. "Hey come on, it's gettin' late. Should probably get you to the Surf Club before your mum has me arrested for abduction or somethin'", Heath said as he stood up and helped Ruby to her feet. "Ah don't worry about it. She's just protective of me. She'll back off. She just needs time", Ruby said as she linked arms with Heath. Walking up the sand the man that was watching Heath gestured for him to go over to where he was. Stand here, I forgot my phone. I'll be back in a sec", he said and ran over to where the man was. "You got everythin'?", he asked the man. Looking down, the man handed Heath a small bag of pills, which Heath shoved in his pocket.

"What about I asked about?", he asked. The man glanced around and then, removed a military hand knife and handed it to Heath. Turning to cover himself, Heath slipped it out of the case and smiled. The placing it back in the case he stuck the knife down the back of his combat board shorts and handed the man a handful of cash. "Good lookin' out mate", he said and with that the man walked away. Just as Heath was about to walk off he spotted Watson and Avery driving up towards the Surf Club in a squad car. Running back to where Ruby was, he greeted her. "Here let me carry that", he said removing her bag from her shoulder. "Uh, thanks", Ruby said with a laugh.

Glancing around, Heath made sure no one was watching as he slipped the bag of pills and the knife into Ruby's bag. Intending to remove them once the coast was clear. Unfortunantly, Charlie and Bianca appeared ahead of time. "Hey Rubes, you ready to go?", Charlie asked grabbing a hold of her daughters hand. "Yeah I was actually just coming to find you", Ruby said. Charlie turned to Heah and noticed that he was holding Ruby's bag. "I'll take that", she said and slung the bag over her shoulder. Heathsliterally bulged out of his head as he realised the mistake he was after making. "Let's go", Charlie said. "Thanks for today Heath", Ruby said hoping that she was glancing in the right direction. With that the ladies left. Leaving Heath with a huge headache to try and fix.

That night after dinner, Charlie and Ruby were sitting watching t.v, when they both decided to head for bed. Standing up Ruby stopped in her tracks. "Oh damn I need to check my levels", she said as she turned to head for the kitchen to grab her insulin and BSL monitor. Charlie stood up quickly and placed her hands on Ruby's shoulders turning her in the direction of her room. "I'll get it, you go get ready for bed. I'll follow you in and check your levels", Charlie said. Ruby thanked her mother and with outstretched arms to guide her, she made her way to her room. Walking out to the kitchen, Charlie picked Ruby's bag up off the floor and placed it on the tall table in the middle of the room.

Opening it up, Charlie rummaged for all of two seconds, when her eyes feel upon foreign objects she knew had nothing to do with her daughter. Removing the bag of pills and the knife, Charlie placed them on the counter and then placed both her hands on either side of the table. Lowering her head, she inhaled deep breaths, to calm herself and to stop the urge she had to go over to the Braxton house and rip Heath's head off. "Charlie", came Ruby's voice from her room. Charlie looked up. "I'm coming", she said loud enough for her daughter to hear. Reaching into the bag she removed Ruby's diabetes kit and placed Heaths "gear" back into it and hit the bag under the key stand beside the door. Deciding to deal with him in later.

**Next Time:**

***Charlie vents her frustration to Bianca about Heath**

***Later she has a heart to heart with Brax. Can he convince her to give them another go**

***Alf rants about the Riverboys to Irene and Leah and Papa Bear is not impressed**

***April and Ruby discuss the future. But can Ruby see a bright future living as a blind person?**


	11. Chapter 11

"Hi", Bianca said, smiling when she opened the back door to find Charlie and Ruby on the other side. Standing back, gestured for them to come in and they made their way into the kitchen. "April's just in her room I'll give a call", she said and then made her way to her little sisters room. knocking on the door she waited for a reply and then opened it. "Hey, Ruby's here", she said looking at April as she turned around in her chair. April nodded and put down her pen. Standing up she made her out of her room and followed Bianca into the living room where Charlie and Ruby were waiting.

"Hey Rubes, thank God you're here. Miles gave us an English assignment I could really use your help with", April said knowing that her friend was better at the subject than she was. Ruby smiled and stood up. Reaching out her arm, April linked it with her own and the young teens ade their way for Aprils bedroom. Leaving Charlie and Bianca alone to talk about whatever it was they talked about it private. Bianca walked around the couch and sat on the opposite end. Placing her elbow on the back of the couch, she leaned her head against her hand and looked at Charlie who clearly had a lot on her mind.

"Okay, come on spill. What's putting that frown on that beautiful face of yours?", she asked trying to provoke a smile from her friend. Charlie sat with her elbows leaning on her legs, wringing her hands together as she tried not to errupt in afit of rage thinking about what had her so rattled up. "Remember yesterday, when I picked Ruby up outside the Surf Club after she spent time with Heath on the beach?", she asked looking at Bianca who nodded her head. "Yeah, he was teaching her some self tactics", Bianca said. Charlie let out a small laugh as she rubbed her brow in frustration. "Yeah, turns out that's not all Heath was doing. That night I was searching through Ruby's back for her insulin. Instead I found a bag of pills and a knife stashed in her bag". Bianca sat up, stunned by what she was hearing.

She rubbed the back of her neck with her and edged closer to Charlie on the couch. "Does Ruby know?", she asked . Charie shook her head, explaining that if her daughter had known she would have told her about it for her own saftey. "Well what are you going to do?", Bianca asked curiously. Wondering how Charlie could possibly make this go away. Placing her head in her hands, Charlie sighed. Looking back up, she turned back to her friend. "I don't know. If I go to police about this an investigation will be started. They'll want to know where I found them and I can't put Ruby through that", she said, breaking eye contact. "But", Bianca said trying to nudge the conversation along.

"If I don't give them back to Heath, and whoever they came from traces them back to Ruby, or me, there's a big chance that our lives could be at risk", she said. The fear of the unknown taking hold of her emotions. Bianca could that Charlie was on the verge of tears. Leaning forward she pulled Charlie into a hug. Releasing herself from the embrace, Charlie wiped away the tear that had fallen. "So what are you going to do?", Bianca asked. Runnin her hands through her hair, Charlie sighed and gazed back at her friend. "I'm going to have to make sure that they're returned to Heath before anyone finds out. Before this all gets anymore complicated", she said. With that Bianca made her way to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee.

"Are you going to tell Ruby?", she asked as she stood between the kitchen and the living room at Charlie who remained on the couch. Gazing towards Aprils room, Charlie shrugged her shoulders and looked back at Bianca with tears glazing over her eyes. "I don't know if I can. She's had such a hard time trusting people since the kidnapping. I don't want her to lose whatever faith she has left in being able to trust people. She was broken after the fire and she's only beginning to heal now. I couldn't bear to watch her fall apart over this", she said as she wiped the tears from her eyes. Bianca nodded in understanding at what Charlie had said and then returned to making their coffees.

"So does it make sense now?", Ruby asked as she sat on April's bed after explaining the answer to the question April had discussed with her. After jotting down some of Ruby's pointers, April sighed with relief and put her pen down. Tidying away her notes for the day. "Uh, thank you so much, that is such a relief. For a while there I thought I was never going to get this assignment done", she said crossing the room and joining Ruby on the bed. Reaching behind her she picked up a pillow and placed it on her lap so she could lean on it. "So do you know when you'll be back in school?", April asked. Knowing that Ruby was eager but at the same time anxious about returning to Summer Bay High. She wanted to get back into the swing of things before she fell too far behind. But she was terrified about the prospect of being the only blind girl in school.

"Well Sid said I'm making great improvements and if I keep adapting well to getting around and doing things for myself I could be back in school in a couple of weeks. I just have to get this thing off first", Ruby said touching the black caseing around her almost completely healed leg. April smiled. "Rubes that's great. Our group's kind of been feeling a little lonely lately. Xavier and Dex are great but sometimes you just need a girl around", she said. Ruby laughed, understanding exactly where April was coming from. At times Ruby missed having Nicole and Annie around. They were her best friends and when they left she felt somewhat lost without them. But she was thankful April arrived when she did. Their friendship had gone from strength to strength over the last year.

"I just can't wait to get back into and get some normality back into my life", Ruby said folding up her cane and grasping it with both hands. April nodded understandingly. "Well if you need any help catching up or studying you know where I am", she said placing a hand on Ruby's arm affectionately. "So do you have an idea what you're going to do after school?", April asked as she stood up and walked over to her dresser, picking up some of the college brouchures she had collected. The question threw Ruby. Ever since the accident she hadn't really thought to much about life beyond school. In fact, she hadn't really discussed it with Charlie about how her disablity would impact her decision.

She knew in the back of her mind that she wasn't capable of going to college away from home. She wasn't comfortable in her abilitites to adapt to living alone. So that was out of the question. In fact the idea of going to college without someone she knew terrified her. How could she adjust to a new school enviorment with the safety net of her friends and a support network that knew her and where aware of her needs. Was college even an option now? Suddenly Ruby's mind became a flurry of worry and concerns. What sort of future could she have as a blind person? Could she have any sort of future at all? Not just in college but in life? Would anyone love her? Would she ever have children? Would she be able to exist in a society that is limited in it's prospects for a disabled person?

"Uh, I haven't really thought about it", Ruby answered simply. Not wanting to delve into a full fledged conversation at that moment and time. April sentenced the evasiveness in Ruby's comments and decided to move on from the conversation. Realising that a lot had changed for Ruby since the start of the year. College was probably the furthest thing from her mind. Placing the college books back down, April instead picked up her manicure kit and walked back over to the bed. "You know lets forget about school right now. Let me give you a manicure", April said as she sat cross legged on the bed and picked up Ruby's hands.

At the Diner, the lunch hour rush had just ended and Irene and Leah had given themselves a much needed by break. Sitting down with Alf, they talked at length about his travels, and then, the topic turned to the Bay's new arrivals. Having been away for six months Alf had only heard bits and pieces about the surf gang, but having been back just over a week now, he could understand why his close friends were so hesitant to fill him in on everything. Over the last few days Alf got to see first hand the trouble the Riverboys brought to the Bay. The home where he was born and raised. Alf cared a lot about the Bay residents and he would do anything to make sure that they felt safe in their own home town. So when it came to outsiders trespassing and wreaking havoc, the Bay's resident father figure was unimpressed with their arrival and was preparing himself for a power struggle to get them out of town and back where they belonged.

"I'll tell you one thing, those flammin' Riverboys have another thing comin' if they think I'm just gonna roll over and let them tear this town apart", he said before taking a sip of his coffee. Irene and Leah nodded. They understood completely where Alf was coming from. They didn't feel comfortable having the Riverboys around and as far as they were concerned, the sooner the police found something of substance to take them down for, the better. "Well you'll hear no arguments here darl. I feel sorry for Charlie. Poor love. Everytime she gets close to nailin' them they find a way to slip out of her grasp. It's like they've got someone watchin' over them keep them one step ahead". Irene said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Leah nodded at what was being said although deep down she felt bad about knowing exactly how the Riverboys were able to stay one step ahead and not doing anything about it. But she knew she had to keep quiet. It would only bring more danger to the Bay if the truth was ever revealed. Alf let out a grunt as he thought about what Irene had said. Then he moved on. "I'll tell ye one thing, I don't know how that Darryl Braxton managed to get his hands on Angelo's. If I was still president of the Surf Club he is the last person I would have runnin the joint. A good business man or not, wherever him and his boys go trouble follows and I don't want it in my town", he said making his feelings quite clear.

"Yeah well I don't know much about Darryl Braxton. But what I do know is whatever he says goes where the rest of those Riverboys are concerned. And with all the trouble they've been associated with, it doesn't say much about him", Irene pointed out. All three of them were startled by the sound of a chair screeching along the floor as it was pushed back roughly. Gazing around they saw Brax stand up and look at them with feelings of ill will present in his eyes. Suddenly he knew how Casey had felt all those years he had to live in his shadow. He looked at them as he walked towards the exit. Taking note of the fact that the elder man staring back at him was neither sorry for what he had said, nor was he threatened by him. With nothing to say and clearly out numbered by Bay residents he made his way out of the Diner and down the beach.

Walking along the sand Brax looked up and was silently elated to see Charlie walking in his direction. Although it became clear when she spotted him that he was not the reason she was there in the first place as she made to leave. Turning on her heel Charlie started in the opposite direction. Knowing he needed to talk to her, Brax began to run after her until he caught up. Once he was in step with her, he grabbed a hold of her arm to stop her walking. "Charlie please can we talk", he asked, as he gazed into her eyes and noticed for the first time how sad she looked. "Talk about what Brax? About how you lied to me about who really are? About how you used me?", she said fighting for dear life to hold back her tears.

"Nah, nah I never, I never used you Charlie", he said standing firm as he spoke. "Alright I admit that when we started this, it was just about sex", he said. Charlie let out a small laugh at what she was hearing. She couldn't believe what he was saying. "But I fell for you Charlie. I've never felt this for anyone before. Not Tegan. Not anyone. I love ye", he said trying to keep his emotions in tact. He wasn't used to laying himself bare for anyone. This was a whole new concept for him. Charlie looked up into his eyes and looked deep inside right down to his soul and she knew he was telling the truth.

"I love you too", she said and Brax allowed himself to let out a small smile as he moved closer to her and grabbed a hold of her hand. Not caring who was watching. He finally felt like they were making head way. Until Charlie began to reason with her own subconcsious and suddenly it all began to fall apart. "But it's not enough", she said removing her hand from his grasp and pulling it up to her chest. Clutching her chain in her hand. "I can't be with someone I can't trust", she said tears welling up in her eyes. Brax moved even closer and placed his hand under her chin. Staring her right in the eye. "Nah Charlie you can trust. You can. I would never do anythin' to hurt you", he said hoping to change her mind.

Looking passed Brax, Charlie wiped away a stray tear. Then she returned her focus to him. "No Brax I can't. When we started this you promised me that I had nothing to worry about. That nobody would get hurt. That you had nothing to hide", she said brushing her windswept hair out of her face. "Then I come to find out not only were you involved in everything you told me you had nothing to do with, but you were the leader. The one responsible for making it all happen. ANd then to top it all off my daughter almost dies. The one thing that matters the most to me I almost lost her because I chose you", Charlie said the guilt eating her up. "I'm sorry Brax I can't do this. I'm really sorry", she finished as she made a hasty exit. Leaving a heartbroken Brax behind her.

**Next Time:**

***Leah and Bianca weigh in on Charlie's decision not to get back together with Brax. **

***Alf and John Palmer work together to keep the Riverboys out of the Surf Club. But how will they deal with Brax being the owner of Angelo's?**

***April talks to Charlie about Ruby's unclear vision of the future and**

***An old friend returns to the Bay to help Ruby work through her demons and plan for the road ahead.**


	12. Chapter 12

After arriving home upset the previous evening, Charlie confided in Leah about ending her affair with Brax. So knowing that her friend could use a chat, and that VJ and Ruby were out for the day, she called Bianca and asked her to come over and cracked open a bottle of red wine. Now all three women were sat around the dining table listening intently as Charlie explainind what had happened with Brax on the beach and her decision to end things. Although she seemed adament that things were over, something in the way Charlie was expressing herself came across as being unsure about her decision. Something both Bianca and Leah picked up on. Placing her glass of wine down and sitting forwars, Bianca decided to weigh in on the situation.

"Charlie are you sure you've made the right decision? Don't get me wrong I know things are complicated. But you both obviously love each other. Is it possible that maybe you can find some way to be together?", Bianca said. Over the last year Bianca herself had become acquainted with complex relationships and how difficult they can be. But she also knew too well that when the heart wants something bad enough, it can be hard to ignore. Charlie looked at her friend and sighed. Bianca made it sound so easy. Unfortunantly, she was an outsider looking in on a situation that she wasn't familiar with. Bianca never had to worry baout other peoples saftey when she was contemplating being with Liam.

"It's not that simple. Brax, the people he knows, they're dangerous. They won't accept him being with a police officer and if we tried to be together, they would find a way hurt us or the people we care about", Charlie said trying to make Bianca see passed the romance of it all give her an insight into the reason why a relationship couldn't work. "But Charlie, surely if things were that bad the police could find a way to protect. Maybe they could even use he threats to put them behind bars", Bianca tried to reason with her. Charlie shook her head and rubbed the back of her nexk with her hands. "No. The police can't know. If they find out I've been seeing a man of police interest, I could lose my job and an investigation will be started into whether or not I've been tipping the Riverboys off. It's not an option", she said,

As she sat quietly listening to Charlie and Bianca converse back and forth, Leah could tell her opinion on the matter differed greatly from Bianca's. Something which could be contributed to the fact that they were in different places in their lives. Bianca being a single woman in her late twenties and Leah being a single parent in her early thirties. Watching the banter, Leah decided it was time she gave her two cents on the issue. "I have to agree with Charlie on this", Leah said as leaned her arms on the table and cupped her hands around her wine glass. Bianca and Charlie turned and their attention to Leah and waited for her to conitnue. "The idea of Darryl Braxton being in the house, especially when we were out, it didn't sit comfortably with me", she said as she took a sip of her wine.

Charlie sat back looking somewhat deflated. Bianca shook her head, disagreeing with what Leah was saying. "But Brax walked away for it all. He's proven over the last couple of months that he isn't a threat. He's been the one keeping Casey out of trouble and Heath out of peoples way", Bianca tried to argue. Charlie nodded slightly. Brax had definitely changed over the last couple of months there was no denying it. But was that enough of a reason for her to continue a relationship with him. Leah sighed and leaned forward. Clearly she and Bianca were on different wave lengths on this issue.

"I'm sorry but that's besides the point. He was still involved in criminal activity and he's associated with really dangerous people. People I don't want to be associated with or that I want hanging around VJ. Or the house", Leah pointed out. "It's easier to throw caution to the wind when you have no parental obligation. But as a mother, every decision you make affects your child that's why we have to make sacrifices. No matter how diificult they are", she said both towards Charlie and Bianca. The turning her attention directly towards Charlie Leah made one last comment. "From one mum to another, I think for Ruby's sake, you've made the right decision. I know it's hard now but that's what he do. We make tough decisions because we know there's no love greater or more important than the love we have for out children. That's why we do whatever it takes to protect them and keep the safe".

With those last words Leah stood up and walked out to the kitchen. Leaving Charlie and Bianca with a lot to think about. Although Charlie felt conflicted in her decision, after Leah's comments she felt justified in her choice. Her housemate was right. Charlie never knew a love greater than the love she had for Ruby. It was unrivaled and unmatched. If she ever lost it, her life wouldn't be worth living. That's why she knew she couldn't be with Brax. As much as he loved and cared for her, he couldn't promise her safety. He couldn't promise her that everything would be alright. He couldn't promise her security or stability. He couldn't promise her that things wouldn't fall apart somewhere down the track. So in that moment, Charlie made a promise to herself, that from that moment on, Charlie would put the saftey of her daughter and her friends above her feelings for Brax. At least while things were so hostile amongst the Riverboys.

At the Surf Club Alf and John Palmer where engaged in a heated discussion about the way the Surf Club was being run. Alf was not happy with the fact that the Riverboys were constantly hanging around and although John shared the same sentiment, he couldn't make them stay away. A view which different from Alf who was determind to find a way to keep them away. "Flammin mongruls. I don't care if we have to fight them from here to Kingdom come they are not welcome and I'm gonna make damn sure they know it", Alf said as he picked up the empty beer bottles some of the Riverboys had left littered around outside. John followed behind as he listend to Alf rant on while clearing up the mess around the place.

"Alf I feel as strongly about his as you do believe me. But there is no way we can keep them out. Time ad again I've called the police to have them removed and it has done nothing to keep them from coming back. I mean for God's sake one of them is even running the show upstairs now", John said pointing up to where Angelo's was located. As they walked into the Surf Club Alf gazed up at the stairs towards Angelo's and shook his head. Walking behind the juice bar, he leaned his hands on the counter as John stood the far side with his arms crossed over his lifeguard shirt.

"Speaking of which, how did young Darryl Braxton get his hands on the joint?", Alf asked. Curious as to why Angelo would sell up to someone, who Alf had gather, was not his favourite person. John shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. All I know is, Angelo wanted a quick sale and Brax was willing to buy him out and as far as the club executives are concerned, they don't care who's running it as long as they pay rent on time", John said as he held up his hands to demonstrate that it wasn't his idea. Alf nodded his head and sighed. Then frowned as he thought more on the subject. John looked at Alfe, knowing all to well that when Alf made that face something was going to come out of this that would probably stir the pot.

"Something about this doesn't sit well with me", Alf said. John rolled his eyes. "Does it ever?", he replied sarcastically. Alf glared at his remark and then stood up straight. "Nah this isn't right", he said as he walked out from around the counter and made his way towards the exit. "Where are you going?", John called after him. Alf turned around and he tossed the bin bags he was holding at John. "I'm going to pay Angelo and young Nicole a visit in the city. Find out what really went down between him and Darryl Braxton", he said and made a hasty exit as he prepared himself for a long drive to the city. John shook his head, knowing that Alf wouldn't rest easy until he got all this Riveryboy business out of his system.

Charlie and Bianca were in the kitchen cleaning up the dishes from the lunch they had made after Leah went to work to start her shift at the Diner. They interrupted from their chatter by a knock at theopen back door. Turning around Charlie was stunned to see who was standing outside looking in. "Oh my God. Geoff. What are you doing home?", she said as she walked over to the door smiling at the young man as she gave him a hug. He hugged her back and smiled at her as she stood out of his way and welcomed him into the house. "Well I'm between missionary work. I just finished up at my last post so after I visited Annie in Japan I decided to come home and catch up with some old faces before I moved on again", he explained.

Turning to Bianca, Charlie introduced the pair. "Geoff this is Bianca Scott. She moved here last year with her sister. They're actually living with Irene", she said as she watched Geoff politely shake her hand. "Oh you must be April's sister. I stopped by Irene's earlier and we were introduced. She mentioned she had an older sister. It's nice to meet you", he said as he smiled at her. Bianca was surprised by how well mannered the young man was. Geoff turned his attention back to Charlie. "I heard about what happened to Ruby. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to call but we were pretty much of contact in the place we were working in in Africa. How's she doing?", he asked as he placed his hands in his pockets.

Charlie licked her lips to moisten them and them sighed. "She's coping as best she can. She puts on a brave face most days but I can tell it's hard on her", she said. Geoff nodded his head understanding how difficult it must be on Ruby and Charlie having to take care of her. Charlie turned towards Bianca and then back at Geoff. "Bianca and I were just about to put on a pot of coffee. Would like to join us?", she asked. Geoff shook his head and politely declined the offer. "No thanks. I'm good. I'm actually hoping to catch up with Ruby. She's one of the main reasons I came back to the Bay", he said. Oblivious to the fact that his face practically alluminated when he spoke the young girls name.

A year had passed since Geoff had departed the Bay. But his feelings for Ruby never faded. She was the first girl he ever truly loved. In fact she was the only girl he had loved since. He was eager to meet up with her although he knew things would be a bit different now thatshe had a disability to contend with. Geoff just hoped he could help her in some way. After the the Australia Day riots. Geoff felt lost. Like he had no direction in is life or purpose. He hoped that from what he learned working n the missions, he could help Ruby regain self belief and plan ahead for the future. Charlie smiled as she realised that Geoff coming back might just be the right kind of boost that her daughter needed.

"Well she went to Yabbie Creek earlier with Indi but they said something about heading down to the beach around the afternoon to meet up wth Romeo so if you're looking for her that's probably the best place to start", Charlie said. With that Geoff thanked Charlie and made arrangements to have dinner with her and Ruby sometime that week. After saying their goodbyes, Geoff left with a spring in his step. Hoping to catch Ruby on the beach and spend some time with her. As he walked down the street he bumped into April who was heading to Leah's to walk home with Bianca. After saying a quick hello, they conitnued on their seperate ways.

Walking up to the back door, April knocked and shouted hello to make presence known. "In the living room", Charlie called back. April made her way into the room and saw her sister and Charlie sitting on the couch talking and laughing. "Hey", Bianca greeted her sister. Putting her cup down on the coffee table, Bianca picked up her handbag and made plans to meet up with Charlie for coffee the following day. "You ready?", Bianca said as she walked over to her younger sister. April looked at Charlie then back at Bianca . "Actually can I catch you up? I kind of need to talk to Charlie about something", she said. Bianca looked at her concerned that something was wrong or that April was trouble.

"Is everything alright?", Bianca asked stroking April's arm. April smiled reassuringly at her big sister and grasped her hand. "Oh yeah everything's fine with me. I actually wanted to talk about Ruby", she said. Directing the last part of her sentence towards Charlie. Bianca looked at her friend and then nodded. "Okay. I'll see you at home", she said and then made her exit through the back door. "So what is it you need to talk to me about?", Charlie asked. Half afraid to hear what the young girl had to say. April walked over to the couch and took a seat at next to Charlie and thought about what she was going to say.

"The other day, I was talking to Ruby about school", she said and Charlie nodded her head to encourage her to continue. "Well when I asked her about what she wanted to do after the HSC she kind of hesitated", April explained. Charlie frowned. "Hesitated? How do you mean?", she aske. April looked down at her hands and then looked back up. "I think Ruby's confused about what her futures going to be like, now that she's blind", April said. She looked at Charlie who seemed rather unfazed by what she had been told. "To be honest, I've thought about that myself every night since Sid told me that Ruby was blind. I was hoping that everntually Ruby would come to me and we could sit down and talk about it", Charlie replied.

April smiled slightly. Hoping to ease the tense situation. Charlie smiled back at her. "Thank you for telling me April. I'm glad Ruby has good friends her care about her", she said putting the teenagers mind at rest. "It's fine. I just hope Ruby figures everything out. I better go", she said. With that they both stood up and Charlie walked April to the door. Once the young girl had left, Charlie closed the door and pressed her back against it. Bowing her head and plaving it in her hands. She just wanted the day to be over.

**Next Time:**

***Ruby and Geoff meet for the first time in over a year. Are old feelings set to be reignited?**

***Alf returns from the city with incriminating evidence. Will he go to the police? Or can Morag convince him of the dangers involved in exposing a long kept secret?**

***Charlie returns Heaths property to the him and gives the hot headed Braxton a stern warning**

***Brax and Tegan hide out in Angelo's after a 'bloody' night. What have they done?**


	13. Chapter 13

Alf pulled into the caravan park during the night. He had spent most of the day catching up with Nicole and Angelo and once all the nice talk was out of the way, he got to the task of finding out what he could about Brax from Angelo. What he didn't expect was to be handed over evidence that could potentially run the Riverboy out of town. To make matters worse, after watching the majority of the footage Angelo had captured, he was shocked to uncover one of the Bay's best kept secrets. Or what was one of the Bay's best kept secrets. While driving back home, Alf had too much time on his hands to think and the more he thought about what he had seen, the more unsettled he became.

Bursting into the house he threw the DVD down on the table and startled Morag who was up late making a pot of tea while going over some case files. Walking out of the kitchen, she looked at her brother who was at best, in a bad mood and at worst, preparing to strangle someone. Alf was a proud man and he didn't appreciate being lied to or deceived by people he cared about or people he respected. Unfortunantly both had happened and now, Summer Bay's resident father figure was furious and Morag was about to understand why. Walking over to the dining table and placing her hands on the back of one of the chairs, Morag threaded carefully into the converstation.

"I take it your trip to the city was either unsuccessful or, you've found out something that's rattled your cage", Morag said sensing that the latter reason was probably more than likely what was causing Alf to have such a temper. "Don't play dumb with me Morag. You knew about Charlie and young Darryl Braxton didn't you?", he said accusingly, although he didn't have to wait for an answer as Morag's face pretty said it all. "Alf believe me I was as much in the dark as you were. I only found out myself recently and it was a choice made freely by Charlie to come forth in the first place", she said, making it clear that she wasn't purposely keeping information from her brother while he was away.

"And you didn't think to sort the pair out? She's a cop. Him and his lot have been causing troube since they were bearly out of nappies", he said. Not impressed with the pairing at all. Morag shook her head in agreement. Alf was preaching to the choir as far as Morag was concerned. She didn't like anymore than he did. "Oh believe me. I've made my feelings quite clear to Charlie and to Mr. Braxton. I'm very well aware of his dodgy behaviour and I will do whatever I have to make sure Charlie see's sense", she said, before looking down at the table and noticing the DVD. "Now Alfred, would you care to explain the mystery disc?", she asked pointing to the table. Alf looked down at the item he had brought all the way back from the city and huffed.

"That, is omething Angelo has been keeping close to the chest since before he left the Bay. It was leverage against Darryl Braxton", he explained as Morag listened intently. "What kind of leverage?", Morag asked, sensing that whatever was on that disc obviously must have been serious enough to rattle Brax's cage. Maybe it could even be used to pressure him again. "Have a look for yourself", Alf replied as he picked up the disc and walked over to the DVD player. Putting the disc in the disc tray he closed the player and pressed play, stepping back so Morag could see the screen. Turning up the volume they listened to the disc. Within minutes, it was revealed to Morag the truth behind what really happened to 'Pee Wee' and the extent of Heath and Brax's involvement.

"There's more", Alf said as he fast forwarded the DVD. When he pressed play Brax and Charlie's secret rendez-vous at Angelo's the night of her party was there on screen. Clear as day. Morag sighed rolling her eyes up to the heavens, realising the mistake Charlie and Brax had made. Taking the disc out of the player, Alf put it back in the case and turned to Morag, needing her legal opinion. "Could this count as evidence against Darryl and his brother?", he asked. Morag looked stunned. "What, you can't bring that to the police" she said making her way back to the kitchen. Alf followed suit and annoyed by the brush off. "Why not? The cops have been lookin' for evidence against those flammin' mongruls for ages, couldn't this help?", he asked standing with his hands leaning against the counter in the middle of the kitchen.

"Alfred, you take that to the police, not only will it be inadmissible in court or a police investigation, but you will implicate Charlie to be involved with a known criminal. She could lose her job", Morah pointed out sternly. Alf stood up straight and placed his hands on his hips. "Well she should of thought of that before she jumped into bed one of those Riverboy lot!", he retorted. As far as Alf was concerned Charlie made her decision and she had to live with the consequences. Darryl Braxton was not someone he wanted hanging around and he was going to stop at nothing to make sure that Brax, and the rest of the Riverboys weren't around for much longer. The Bay had been through enough with having gangs hanging around the place.

"If you go to the police and they see this footage, Charlie could potentially face jail time. Especially when they find out that she was with Brax the night of the fire in the National Park. Where would that leave Ruby?", Morag said, trying to tug on Alf's heartstrings. "That poor girl has been through enough recently, waht with Ross dying and losing her sight. The last thing she needs is to have her mother locked up because of a poor decision. Do you really want to be responsible for that?", she asked. Alf looked at her with a frown. Although he hated to admit it, Morag had a point. Charlie was Ruby's only remaining family. He couldn't live with the guilt of taking that away from her. However just because he couldn't leagally use the DVD, didn't mean he couldn't find a way to make use for it.

Driving past the Surf Club, Charlie spotted Heath's white truck parked a few feet away so she pulled in. Looking behind the passenger seat, Charlie removed the jacket cover the shoulder bag holding Heath's gear and lifted it up. Removing her keys from the ignition, she inhaled a deep breath and then hopped out of the car. Locking the doors behind her as she walked away. Gazing around, she spotted Heath drinking beer at a nearby bench surrounded by other shady looking characters and a few Rivergirls. Slinging the bag over her shoulder, she hesitantly made her way towards them. Once in speaking range she stopped in her current spot and gazed at the crowd, then locked in on the middle Braxton.

"Heath, can I have a word?", Charlie said using her professional policing tone. Heath turned around and looked at her waiting for her to continue. "In private", she said so Heath would cop on to the fact it wasn't a social call. Placing his beer bottle down on the bench, Heath made his way over to Charlie and the pair stood a few feet out of ear shot of the others. "What do you want Buckton?", he said sounding annoyed. Removing the bag from her shoulder, she held it before Heath and opened it upslightly to reveal the contents inside. Taking note of his gear, Heath swallowed hard, realising he had been caught out. "I told you NOT to mess with Ruby!", Charlie said forcefully as she threw the bag at Heath, slamming it against his chest.

"I didn't mean to alright", he replied while zipping up the bag. "She wasn't meant to be involved. The guy who supplies my pills showed up the day Ruby and I were goin' over some of those self defence methods. After we made the exchange I saw your copper mates drivin' around and I panicked", he said as he rubbed his brow. "I stashed the gear in Ruby's bag incase they tried to do a random spot search. I wasn't gonna leave 'em there. But when you showed up I didn't have time to get 'em back", Heath finished as he slung the bag over his shoulder. Charlie glared at him. Whatever the reason Heath had for doing what he did, it wasn't a good enough excuse for involving her daughter.

"The fact is Heath you still did what you did. Do you know how much danger you could have put Ruby in?", she said taking a step closed to the local hot head. Heath looked down at the ground and then back up at Charlie, a serious look in his eyes. "Look I would never do nothin' to hurt Ruby. Okay I, I...", he was cut off by an impatient Charlie. "You what Heath?", she said. "I CARE ABOUT HER ALRIGHT", he shouted back at her. "I care about her a lot. You know she's the only one in this stupid town who actually cared enough to get to know me instead of writin' me off", he tried to explain. Heath looked back down at the ground, suddenly feeling quite vulnerable and exposed.

Charlie stood there flabbergasted. Whatever her feelings for Heath, she had to admit to herself that in the moment, even she could feel the sincerity in his voice. However that didn't change her mind about him or her fear of what his association to her daughter could do to her safety. "Well you should have thought about that before you stashed a large bag of illegal narcotics in her handbag", Charlie said in an angry hushed voice. "I don't care what you feel for my daughter, from now on you stay the hell away from her or I swear to God a pissed off drug baron will be the least of your problems", she hissed at him. With that Charlie walked away, leaving Heath to his own devices.

Sitting on the beach, Indi watched as Romeo hit wave after wave, trying to im press her with his surfing skills. Ruby on the other hand just sat in silence. She thought it was rather pointless going down to the beach to watch Romeo surf when she could see it for herself. Although, at least Indi was still engaging her in conversation. When Indi turned to say something to Ruby, she spotted a familiar looking figure walking down the beach. She wasn't one hundred percent sure, but she was almost certain it was Geoff Campbell. Not that she knew him very well. He left not long after the Walker family arrived the first time around. But she remembered him from passing in school. What she did know about him, was that he and Ruby were a serious item before he left and she was pretty sure that her friend would be happy with the surprise.

The closer Geoff got to Ruby, the harder he found it to breath. It was the same feeling he used to have when they were together and she would walk into a room. It almost felt like they had never been apart. And that was one of Geoff's biggest regrets. Although he knew he had to go to the missions to find himself, he never wanted to end things with Ruby. But he knew it wasn't fair to try the long distance thing when he wasn't sure when or if he'd be back. So they broke up. And Geoff found himself regretting it every day that he was away. Now, he was walking on the same beach where she was sat. Breathing the same air as the girl who stole his heart and never gave it back. He was moments away from being reunited with the only girl that he had ever truly loved in his lifetime.

Indi smiled as Geoff finally reached them. Geoff waved at her and then gazed down at Ruby. Getting down on one knee he smiled at her. Then lifting his hand he revealed a flower that he picked earlier. Raising his hand he gently tucked Ruby's hair behind her ear and set the flower in her hair. Feeling the motions around her, Ruby flinched slightly, although she guessed it was just Indi messing around with her. Until, a familiar voice spoke to her. "You know, you always did look beautiful with a flower in your hair", he said, a big grin on his face. Ruby's jaw almost dropped to the ground. Her heart skipped a beat as memories came flooding back. Listening to the voice she picked up on the direction of where it was coming from and she turned her head.

Sitting up she turned towards where Geoff was kneeling and she stretched out her arms. Her hands came in contact with his face as she gently used her sense of touch to feel out the features of the man before her. Even though she couldn't see him, from memory and from what she could feel, she knew who it was. And when he cupped her hand on his cheek she felt the sparks between them. "Geoff", she said. Finally acknowledging him out loud. His grin grew wider and as Ruby wrapped her arms around him. Holding her in his arms, Geoff held on tight as he thanked God for reuniting him with her. Once the pulled apart, he placed a hand on the side of her face and wiped away the tear that had fallen down her cheek. Gazing into her eyes a sadness washed over him, knowing that she couldn't see him. But that was soon replaced with a euphoric feeling inside him that was just so happy to see her. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before pulling her back into his arms.

From a distance he watched as the stranger pulled the young girl into his arms. The sight drew on feelings of anger and guilt. For walking away when he should have stood up and been a man. For not having the guts to face a tough situation head on. And for standing back and allowing his girlfriend to be held in the arms of another man. Casey Braxton had only just stepped foot back in Summer Bay, and already he had lost the only thing he had left that meant anything to him. As he gazed down over Ruby, he saw her interact with the blonde haired man with such happiness and contentment and it made him sad. But it also made him jealous and he couldn't handle that. With one last glance he walked away.

Darkness fell over Summer Bay. It was late. The whole town was quite as people slept, awaiting the arrival of morning and a new. Everyone except for two people who wished to relieve the previous day. For they knew morning would bring a whole new set of challenges. Pulling up outside the Surf Club, Brax and Tegan quietly exited the car and made their way into the Surf Club. Entering the building, the rushed up the stairs to Angelo's. Feelings of guilt, despair and a serious case of adenaline pumping through their veins. Tegan sat down on one of the chairs as Brax made his way behind the bar and switched on the lights. Taking a bottle of bourbon down off the shelf, he poured himself a large class and down it in one.

As he placed the glasss down his gaze fell upon his hands. The blood stains were now dried onto his skin. He look at his hooded shirt and noticed the bloody patches across the front. Removing his shirt he threw it into one of the bin bags. Walking into the back room, he pulled out a spair shirt and put it on. He made his way into the kitchen and scubbed the blood stains out of his hands. Careful to clear up afterwards. Walking back into the restaurant, he saw Tegan, sitting on the chair in a trance like state. Walking behind the bar he poured himself another bourbon and the poured one for her. Picking up the glases he walked over to where she was sitting and placed the glasses down on the table.

"What have we done Brax?", she asked, her voice trembling as she spoke. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes and he could see the fear in her eyes. He wiped his brow and gazed down at the ground. Placing his hands on his hips he gazed back up at her. "We did what we had to do. Okay you remember that", he said. Handing her a glass, he picked up his own drink and, just like the last, he lowered it one. Putting the glass back down on the table, he looked Tegan up and down. Her clothes were clean, but she her hands were also stained. "You go get yourself cleaned up. The early mornin' risers will be up soon for work, I don't want anyone seein' us leavin' here", he said. Standing up Tegan walked into the back kitchen, leaving Brax alone.

Sitting down on the now vacant chair, Brax layed his head in his hands. All he wanted to do was make things better. Take care of things as he would usually say. Instead he just seemed to be making one mistake after another and he didn't know how much more he could take. He didn't know if he would ever be able to win Charlie back. Not now. Not after she had seen the man he was. The man he was trying to change when he met her. Everyday he could feel the grip he had on control slipping. He could feel the net closing in on him. Just then Tegan reappeared. Standing up, Brax placed the chair back on the table and picked up the glasses. Walking over to the bar, he placed them on the counter and switched off the lights. Leaving in darkness, Tegan and Brax knew that tomorrow would bring new challenges.

**Next Time:**

***When Geoff announces his intention to stay in the Bay, Ruby gives him a gift, which upsets the recently returned Casey**

***Irene has to step in when Alf and Charlie engage in a war of words**

***Heath accidentally reveals his true feeling for Ruby, which leaves the teen more confused than ever**

***Brax and some other Mangrove River boys are arrested after a beach brawl. Will he be able to talk his way out of this one? Or has Inspector Joyce finally got his man?**

***The Buckton girls spend a night discussing their tumultuous love lives. Can they figure out a way to get back on track?**

***A warning message from Brodie and the boys which foreshadows trouble ahead**


	14. Chapter 14

Sitting around the table, Geoff, Ruby and Charlie spent the last half hour exchanging stories of what has been going on in their lives. They discussed Geoffs work in the missions, and pretty much anything else that they could think of to catch him up on what had been going on in the Bay since he left. At one point Leah and Irene had joined in while on their lunch break, but now it was just the three of them and to say Geoff was happy to be around Ruby again was an understatement. He still had the same grin on his face that he had when he saw her again for the first time and it was becoming infectious. Charlie was grinning from ear to ear. Happy to see that Ruby had a bit of that old spark back in her that had been missing for quite a while.

After divulging more town gossip, they decided to enjoy an early dinner while they were hanging around. This was actually a little unusual for Ruby as she had never really dined out since her accident. Other than going to the juice bar with her friends or odering a coffee, she spent most of her meal times at home in private where she could develop her skills in what she had referred to as blind dining. Being honest, she actually felt uncomfortable eating in front of people as there had been few accidents and mishaps at home. Knocking glasses over, spilling food, mixing up the salt and pepper and other little mishaps.

Fortunantly for Ruby, Charlie was on the ball about most things. Whenever they would eat together, Charlie would hand Ruby whatever it was she was looking for or put it in reaching distance. Sometimes, Charlie would do it without even being asked. It was almost like she had picke up a sixth sense and she knew what Ruby was thinking before she opened her mouth. Which left Geoff mesmerised. Time and again he saw Charlie reaching for something that Ruby wanted without either Buckton saying a word. It warmed his heart to how dedicated Charlie was to taking care of Ruby, not matter how difficult the situation. Once they had finished their meal, Ruby excused herself to go to the bathroom. Standing up Charlie place her arm around her daughters back and manuovered her around the table and then guided her in the right direction before sitting back down.

"You know the dedication you have to looking after Ruby, it really is amazing. I mean I know she's your daughter and all, but the way your their for her, just knowing what she needs without her saying a word. It's just incredible", Geoff said smiling at Charlie to show that he was being genuine with what he was saying. Charlie blushed at the compliment. If she were the type to lap up adoration from other people she would have stood up and taken a bow. But that wasn't the type of person she was. Ruby was her daughter and she would do anything in this world for her without a seconds hesitation. Being there for her and taking care of her, it was just second nature. Most of the time she did it without thinking.

"Thanks, but to be honest it's all down to Ruby. She's been working so hard to push through all this and rebuild her life. She's really been putting in a lot of effort to find ways to live comfortably with her disability", Charlie said as a sense of pride start to well up in her as she thought of the work Ruby had put in to adapting to being blind. At times she geuninely felt that Ruby did deserve some type of reward. "You know if I'm honest, I get up in the morning, and I have those days were I just want to crawl back under the duvet forget about work and relationships and all that other "stuff" that we just get so consumed by", she said really expressing her thoughts as she spoke. "But then, I see Ruby. I watch her make her own breakfast, tie her shoe laces, and just getting around the house without tripping over something. All the things we take for granted, the things we do without thinking twice about, they are like the biggest hurdles for her, but she does it and carries on with her day", Charlie and she could see it in Geoff's eyes that he understood exactly where she was coming from.

"And it makes me think, what have I got to complain about? I have a job that I'm successful at, I have good friends I care about, I have my health, and I have a daughter who I love more than I thought it was possible love another human being. I don't pity Ruby or feel sorry for her. In fact with each passing day, I become more and more in 'awe' of her", Charlie finished as a tear welled up in her eye. Geoff placed a hand in top of Charlie's and gave her one of his heart warming smiles. Then out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Ruby making her way back to the table. "So what did I miss?", she asked as Geoff pulled out her chair for her. After regathering her composure, Charlie smiled. "Actually I was just about to ask Goff how long he was planning on hanging around for", she said, curious as to whether or not this was a short or long visit.

Geoff looked down and then looked back gazed back up again at both women. "Actually I'm planning on sticking around indefinitely. Or at least that's the plan right now", he said. Ruby's face lit up as Geoff spoke. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. If it weren't for the diner full of people she would have jumped up and screamed with excitement but she thought against it. "Really? Oh my God that's, it's amazing!", she squealed. Charlie laughed. Her daughter was still as exciteble as ever. Once Ruby had settled down, Geoff gaze at her and noticed the awkward grin on her face. He frowed, then broke into a small smile. "You already I was staying didn't you?", he asked. Ruby chewed her bottom lip before her smile turned into a laugh.

"Okay, guilty as charged. Irene let it slip to me and Charlie yesterday after the town meeting", she said. Geoff nodded his head remembering something Alf having organised a town meeting but he had decided to skip it as he was still trying to get over a serious case of jet lag. "Yeah April mentioned it to me. What was it about?", he asked, curious as to what was pushing Mr. Stewart into action. "Alf and Palmer are sick of the Riverboys running around doing what they want and attracting trouble into the town. Everytime the police do something about it lasts all of five seconds before they're back on the beach again. So, they want the good ol' towns people to pick up their pitch forks and burn them at the stake", Ruby laughed as she spoke, remembering how the meeting seemed more like a Mel Gibson scene out of Braveheart than an actual town meeting.

"Basically they want us to make it as difficult as possible for them to drive them out of town. Everything from refusing them service at the Surf Club, the Diner, the Offlicense. Refuse them entry to public premises where families and school kids hang out", she listed off, trying to remember what else Alf has said the night before. "Oh yeah, Alf even wants people to boycott Angelo's. At least while Darryl Braxton owns it", she finished, sensing her mother tense a little beside her. Charlie was saddened by the severe action Alf, Palmer and the people of Summer Bay were going to to push the Riverboys out of the Bay. What was also hurting, was that the feelings she had for Brax, the one's she buried when she ended things, had creeped back up the night before at the meeting, when she found herself feeling sorry for Brax for being blacklisted the way he was.

She thought back to the meeting, she remembered sitting next to Ruby, Bianca and April and watching as Alf fired up the towns people, as if they were going to war. They cheered with every word that came out of his mouth. At one point she saw Alf stare directly at her when he talked about boycotting Angelo's and when she turned around, she spotted Brax all the way at the back of the crowd, standing by the door, shaking his head. Looking like the most deflated man in the world. Normally Brax would have stood up for himself. But she could see it in his eyes, against a room full of people, it was a battle he could never win. Not that he was there for long. An anxious looking Tegan arrived and after exchanging a few words in Brax's ear, they left. Leaving Charlie slightly curious.

"Actually, I, have a present for you", Ruby said as she touched mothers arm, indicating to her to retrieve the present from her handbag. Once Charlie had grabbed a hold of it, Ruby held onto her arm and gestured for her to hand it straight to Geoff. Smiling, Geoff took the gift out of Charlie's hand and unwrapped it to reveal a small box. Opening it, his eyes lit up as his gaze fell upon a leather wrist band with a silver pendent on it, much like the one's Ruby and her friends wore. "Now don't get too excited, Romeo, Xavier and Dex have similiar one's and April, Indi and Nicole have one's that are like mine. It was their idea. It's a way for me to identify them. Only people I trust have them so count yourself lucky", she said grinning.

Geoff's face lit up as he put the wrist band on and admired it. "I love it. Thank you", he said as he leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I really hate to just leave like this, but I promised Nic I would visit her in the city so I better make tracks. But if you're not busy we could meet up tomorrow?", he asked looking back and forth between Ruby and Charlie. Ruby nodded her head and after Charlie told him she would settle the bill, he left. Standing up Ruby and Charlie headed for the counter to pay when Alf entered the diner. "Charlie can I have a word?", he asked. She turned to Ruby who was standing next to her griping both her hands around her cane.

"It's okay I'll wait outside", Ruby said as she touched her cane to the ground and made her way for the exit. Charlie watched on until Ruby was outside. As much as she hated dogs, she actually couldn't wait until Jacob was done with his guide dog training. Everytime Ruby went off on her own it made her anxious. Once her daughter was out of sight, she turned her attention to Alf. Gazing around at the other diners, he noticed the outside dining area was empty and he Charlie walked over to it for some privacy. "What can I do for you Alf?", Charlie asked, assuming it was to do with the Riverboys and Alf and Palmers little vendetta to get rid of them out of Summer Bay for good.

"First of all you can drop the cop act. I know about you and young Darryl Braxton", he said as he placed his hands on his hips. Like he always did when he was making a point to show this wasn't a social chat. Charlie flinched slightly and shifted to the other foot, trying her best to keep her composure. "I don't know what you're talking about", she said looking Alf straight in the idea. Alf frowned at the blatant lie she was telling to his face. Disappointed in her for thinking she could get away with it. "Don't pull that one with me. Angelo showed me a little DVD when I went and visited him in the City. It was CCTV footage from Angelo's and right at the end there's a nice shot of you and Darryl gettin more than a little intimate", he said.

Suddenly Charlie felt like a little school girl, getting a telling off from the principal for getting caught making out with one of the boys behind the bike shed. She was embarressed to have been caught out in that way, but at the same time she was worried about Alf knowing. To many people knew as it was, she was afraid of how many more people would find out. "Alf you can't tell anyone. If people find out, especially any of Brax's rival gangs, or my bosses, it would finish both of us off", she said, a look of worry in her eyes as she though of the damage this had already caused. Not to her directly, but to Ruby and Casey.

"Why didn't you think of this before you jumped into bed with someone who has spent most of his life on the wrong side of the law", Alf said, loud enough to alert Irene who stopped what she was doing and and stood by the counter watching and listening, trying to make sure a war didn't break out in the middle of her premises. "Strewth, I thought you had more sense than to get involved with someone like that", Alf said shaking his head. Charlie stood there shocked, angere that Alf was belittling her like that. "Excuse me but my personal life is my business and I should have the right to be with whoever I want without being judged for it", she defended herself. Alf glared sideways at her. "Well when your involved with some with a reputation and such a personal relationship with the police I think you'll find that in a town this small it becomes everyone's business. Especially when it comes down to the fact that since the Braxtons and their mob showed up this town has gone to the dogs", Alf said, his voice like thunder as he spoke.

"Brax may have a reputation but you don't know him like I do. Yes, he's done some questionable things, but underneath it he's a good guy caught in a bad situation", Charlie responded. She found it weird defending Brax when they weren't even together, but she thought it was unfair his name being dragged through the mud when he wasn't there to defend himself. "Darryl Braxton is no better than any other common crook and no amount of charm or money is going to change that. And I'll tell you one thing, if I for one second thing your abusing your position as a police officer to keep him out of trouble you'll have a fight on your hands to keep your job", Alf said shaking his finger at her. "Oh you'd really sell me out?", Charlie shouted back.

At this point Irene could see that tempers were rising. Walking from behind the counter she stepped in between them and and shouted above their bickering. "ALRIGHT ENOUGH", she said. "I don't know what it is that has you two at each other's throats but if it's about the Riverboys you two really need to get over it. This fighting isn't helping anyone and you two snipin' at each other isn't going to get you anywhere". Once Irene had finished speaking both Charlie and Alf backed down. Alf shot a sympathtic look at Charlie. "You're a good Sheila Charlie, don't get caught in the middle of all this mess over a fling with someone who's no good for you", Alf advised as he brushed passed Irene and headed into the diner.

"Fling? What is he talkin' about a fling? With who?", Irene asked feeling very confused. She didn't know Charlie was even seeing anyone. Charlie swallowed hard and wiped her brow, then turned her attention to Irene. "Nothing, it doesn't matter", Charlie said. Before Irene could reply, Charlie asked her if she could pay the bill and walked back inside. As she stood at the counter waiting for the waitress to return she turned around and gazed at the table Alf was sitting at. They looked at each other, both hoping for different outcomes to their conversation. Charlie hoping that Alf would calm down his advances to get rid of Brax and the Riverboys and Alf hoping that Charlie would see sense and stay away from someone he thought was a gambler on a bad path.

Outside the diner, Ruby sat on a bench waiting for her mother to come and get her so they could go home. As she sat down she heard the sound of a truck skid into the car park and a door slam. Startled she slowly stood up and was about to walk away when she heard the familiar voice of Heath mumbling to himself as he walked passed her. "Heath", she called out. "Not now", he answered her with a tone that would suggest he was currently angry. As Heath continued to walk away towards the beach another car skidded into the car park . Three men emerged from the car and called after Heath. "Hey man wait up", one of them said. As they were passing by, Ruby was knocked over in the rush. Hitting the ground with a thud.

Hearing the sound of someone falling Heath turned around to find Ruby on the ground and three of his boys standing over her. Running back over he helped Ruby up and sat her on the bench. Tunring around he shoved Decky, the guy responsible. "Oi watch were you're goin", he shouted. Decky shoved him back, annoyed at Heath for turning on him. "Take it easy mate anyone would think you actually cared about her". At this point Heath was fuming. "Yeah well maybe I do!", he shouted back, losing control of his mouth. Standing back he realised what he said and tried to calm himself. Laughing Decky turned. "You what?", he said, gazing between Ruby and Heath. "Nothin forget it", he said. With that he turned around walked away, jumping back into his truck and driving off.

Sitting on the bench Ruby was stunned into silence. Never in a million years did she think that Heath Braxton of all people would have feelings for her. Sensing that the others were still there, Ruby gripped her cane tightly. "I can't believe he has feelings for a blind chick", Decky laughe as he headed for the beach. After a couple of minutes Charlie arrived to find Ruby siiting quietly. "Hey, you ready to go?", she asked. Standing there, Charlie got no response. Placing a hand on her daughters shoulder she gently coaxed her daughter to talk. "Heath Braxton just admitted to having feelings for me", she said as she sat there in a trance like state. Charlie lowered her head. Annoyed that Heath had done this. Placing her arm around Ruby's shoulders. "Come on. We'll talk about this at home", she said. With that they stood up and headed for Charlie's car.

"Xavier", Casey shouted as he ran up the beach towards his best friend. Digging his surf board into the sand, Xavier turned around and smiled at Casey. Once they were close enough they bumped fists and Xavier welcomed him back. "Hey look, I'm sorry I just took off like that. I just had a lot of stuff going on", Casey explain as they sat down on the sand. Xavier brushed off the excuse telling him it was necessary. "Look we've all had moments of madness. So what's up? How've you been?", he asked. Casey nodded as he looked out at the surf. Remembering why exactly he loved Summer Bay so much. "I've been better. My ribs are healed so I can finally hit the surf again which is good. So ah, how's, how's Ruby?", he asked. Hoping that Xavier would spill on who the mystery man he saw her on the beach was.

"Yeah she's doing okay. Well, she's as good as can be expected. But I won't lie, she was pretty gutted that you left without saying anything", he said. Casey lowered his head. Time and again he had cursed himself for leaving without saying anything. But he knew with the state his head was in when he left, that it was better that he didn't see her. "So who's the guy she's been hanging around with? I them on the beach yesterday. They seemed pretty friendly", he asked. Xavier thought for a second, and then realised who it was he was talking about. "Oh that was Geoff. He and Ruby used to be an item about a year ago until he left. He went to do missionary work in Africa or somewhere", Xavier said. Casey nodded feeling relieved to know that Geoff was in Ruby's past.

Looking down he noticed the wristband Xavier was wearing. "Nice leather. You going for the beach bum look", Casey asked with a sarcastic grin. Xavier punched him jokingly on the shoulder. "Nah, we all got 'em. Me, Dex, Romeo, April, Indi. It's a way for her to identify the people closest to her. Ruby has one too. The silver tag has braille on the flip side. See", he said twisting the pendent around to show Casey what he was talking about. "That's pretty cool", Casey said as he admired it. Standing up he wiped the sand off his boarded shorts. "Look man, I gotta go. I'll check ye later", he said. Xavier waved as Casey took.

Heading into the Surf Club, Casey spotted Geoff standing at the juice bar. Part of him told him to walk away. But another part of him wanted to talk to the guy, find out what he's really like. Walking up to the bar, he 'accidentally' bumped into him. "Oh man, I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going", he said. Geoff looked at him. "Don't worry about it, it was an accident", he said. Casey flashed a fake apologetic smile. "I've haven't seen you around before. Are you new to the Bay? I'm Casey by the way", he said extending his hand. Geoff shook his hand, "I'm Geoff. Actually I used to live here but I left about a year ago. I just got back into town", he said.

Casey nodded his head pretending to be interested. "Ah cool. Actually I think Ruby mentioned you before", he said trying to form a common connection between them. Geoff raised his eyebrows. "You know Ruby?", he asked as he paid the girl behind the counter for his juice. "Yeah, actually we've been going out for a couple of minths now", he said, trying to provoke some sort of reaction out of him. Geoff checked the time and realised he was running late for his trip to the city. "Aw look I'm running late, but maybe we can hang out sometime?", he asked. As he raised his the hand holding his drink so he could take a sip, Casey noticed the wristband on his wrist. "Yeah", he said rather quietly as he realised it was the same as the one Xavier had been wearing. Turning around he watched as Geoff walked out the door and with that Casey made his exit and headed for the surf. Knowing he needed to clear his head.

Walking throught the door of the police station. Brax was agitated by the handcuffs around his wrists. Many times he had been brought down to the station, but this was actually the first time he was brought in for something he could actually be done for and he felt ashamed of himself for getting caught in the middle of a brawl on the beach. But he was also annoyed. Heath hadn't shown up like he was supposed to and Brax was itching to find out why? As he sat on the chair, Inspector Joyce walked out of the office looking rather pleased with himself. "Mr. Braxton, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this day", he said as he signed off on a report sheet at the reception desk where Watson was watching.

"You know there' no way you can hold me. Once I give my lawyer a call, I'll be out of here before you sign off for the day eh", he said with a smug grin. Inspector Joyce laughed in Brax's face. "I don't care. You know why? Because we finally have something to charge you with and I'm going to keep digging until I found more stuff to charge you with. Either way you're going in front of a judge so you may want to get used to the fact that you could very well be heading for a jail cell Mr. Braxton", Joyce said as started to walk towards his office. "Constable, charge these boys. Don't let any of them leave until they've made bail", he said. "Yes Sir", Watson replied. Watson walked out from the desk and headed straight for Brax. She relished in the enjoyment she got out of charging him.

A couple of hours passed and Brax had finally made bail. Once outside the station he removed his mobile from his pocket and dialled Heath's number. "Heath where the hell are ye? Why weren't you at the beach. Call me back", he said as his temper began to rise. Across the street he saw Tegan waiting for him. Crossing the road he jumped into the passenger seat and glanced out the window. "What are ye doin' here Tegan? he asked glancing at her with a look of anger. "Jake's escaped", she said. Her voice trembling as she spoke. Brax's head snapped around. "What do ye mean he's escaped. I tied him up myself there's no way he got of got out of those ropes", Brax said.

"He started bleeding from his stitches. I had to untie him so I could clean it up", Tegan tried to continue explaining, but Brax cut her off. "Tegan are you stupid. I shot him", he said raising his voice. "But you shot in self defence with his own gun. He can't go to the cops", she treid to reason with him. "That's not the point. I almost killed him. If he gets back to his boys they're gonna plan an attack", Brax rubbed his brow as he tried to come up with a plan. Just then Tegan's phone beeped and she looked at it to reveal she had a message. "Maybe not. Decky saw Jake heading back towards the River. If we catch up with him he won't get the chance to say anything", she said. Brax gazed out the windscreen and the turned towards Tegan. "I'm driving".

At Leah's, Charlie and Ruby were sitting down on the couch in the living room having just finished a late night snack. Ruby was quiet which worried Charlie. Something was obviously bothering her. "Rubes, you okay? What's wrong?", she asked. Ruby removed her glasses and wiped her brow. Charlie lowered her head and gazed into Ruby's eyes, gently rubbing her finger along her daughter's cheek and over the scars around eye. Really noticing them for the first time since the accident. Ruby raised her head but her focus was was straight ahead as she let out a sigh.

"It's just, last year I spent months complaining about the fact I wasn't in a relationship. And now, my ex boyfriend is back in town wanting to spend time with me. Heath Braxton has feelings for which has come out of nowhere and my boyfriend is God knows where", she said wiping away a stray tear. Charlie placed her arm around Ruby's shoulders and pulled her closer, giving her a comforting squeeze. "It just feels like I can't catch a break. I just want time to just, breath", she said. Charlie nodded her head more to herself than Ruby as she realised she felt the exact same way about her own life. Everyday she had this internal struggle over her feelings for Brax's and people's constant need to share their opinion on him and the Riverboys.

"I guess it's true what they say, like mother, like daughter", Charlie said. Ruby turned her focus towards her mothers voice. "Brax", she said, knowing that her mother was still harbouring feelings for the eldest Braxton. Charlie laughed slightly. She never was able to hide anything from Ruby. If it weren't for her daughters complete aversion to all things police, she could have sworn Ruby would have been a good detective. "I guess I'm just wondering if I'll ever get it right. I mean, I'm not getting any younger", she said as she played with Ruby's hand. "Charlie you're thirty two years old. You have plenty of time to find love. Unless, it's because Brax is the guy you want", Ruby questioned.

Charlie fell silent. Of course she still had feelings for Brax. She was in love with the man. But that couldn't rise above the things he had done and the lies he had told. "You know in another lifetime, in another place, I would have said yes", she said as Ruby listened intently. "But unfortunantly we're just living in two completely differnent worlds with different priorities", Charlie said as she gazed at her daughter. The most important priority in her life. Just then..._smash_...came a noise from the kitchen. Both women jumped at the sound. Standing up, Charlie raced into the kitchen to find the window shattered.

Gazing down her eyes fell upon a rock with an envelope tied down to it by an elastic band. Picking it up she removed the envelope and held it in her hand. Written across the front was her name as well as Ruby's. "Charlie, what's going on?", Ruby asked as he stood by the doorway holding onto the frame. Opening the letter Charlie read the black writing in front of her.

_They say the death of a child is unbearable for a parent. You're gonna know what that feels like Buckton. Tell Ruby I'll be seeing her soon - Brodie._

Scrunching up the note, Charlie rushed over to Ruby and pulled her into her arms. Holding on to her with a death grip. Unable to stop her tears from falling.

Walking into his empty restaurant, Brax walked behind the counter and noticed a white envelope sitting on the counter, next to a half empty bottle of burboun, Picking it up he opened it and pulled out the letter inside.

_You always were a firecracker mate. Now you're gonna watch Summer Bay burn. I'll be seeing you soon. Cheers for the drink - Brodie and the Boys._

Brax ripped up the note and threw it in the bin. Looking at the bottle of burboun, he picked it up and flung it at the wall. Watching as it smashed to the ground into a number of tiny pieces. Armageddon was threatening to hit Summer Bay and he didn't know how to stop it.

**Next Time:**

*** Brax talks to Casey for the first time in a long time and alerts him to Brodie's threats**

*** Heath and Ruby discuss his feelings for her but things turn ugly when he gets into a fight with one of Ruby's school peers who teases her about her disability**

*** Charlie discusses the possibility of leaving town with Ruby to Bianca. Is she making the right decision?**


	15. Chapter 15

Brax stood on the sand and watched as his youngest brother caught wave after wave. Although they spent a lot of time bickering and disagreeing, there was one thing they had in common, they both did their best surfing when when they were at a low point in their lives. It was almost like they had to prove to themselves that, while everything else in their lives was going wrong, there was something out there that they were still good at. The Braxton brothers didn't have a lot in common, they all had very different personalities, but one thing they always bonded over, was surfing. That's why whenever they needed to find one another, they knew exactly where to go.

Running out of the ice cold water, Casey spotted Brax standing next to the place where he had left his towel. Turning his head away, Casey wished that he could just make his older brother disappear. It had been well over month and a half since the fire, but Casey still found his stomach turning everytime he set eyes on Brax. Truth be told, he didn't think he could ever forgive him for the damage he had caused. At least with Heath, Casey always knew where he stood, because when Heath was heading for trouble the whole town knew about it hours before it happened. But with Brax, everything was a secret. You never knew where you stood with him or what was going on. And that's how all of this ill feeling had come to pass.

All his lying, this double life he had been leading, it finally got flipped on it's head and now people were paying the price for his deceit. One of Brax's major flaws was, at times, his ego blocked out his judgement. For a long time he had been getting away with a lot of things that would have seen any other common criminal locked up doing serious time. But not Brax. He was too clever to get caught. And because of this, he became deluded by his own intelligence. The problem was Brax was so used to gettin away with things, that he actually believed that he could continue on seeing Charlie without getting caught. Or that he could handle the fallout if their secret was revealed.

Unfortunantly, Brax overestimated himself, and underestimated how serious the consequences would be of a Riverboy being with a cop. Now Casey had to deal with that fallout everyday. At times, he wished Brax had never met Charlie. Maybe then he would be hanging on the beach with Ruby having fun like normal teenagers, instead of constantly looking over his shoulder and dealing with this guilt he felt over what happened to his girlfriend. Or at least someone he thinks is still his girlfriend. That was a very grey area. One that needed to be rectified. Heading up the sand, he hoped he could avoid having any sort of conversation with Brax, but deep down he knew there was a reason why Brax's was invading his space.

"Lookin' good out there", Brax said, pointing to the surf as he spoke to his youngest brother. Casey reached down to pick up his towel. As he flung it over his shoulder he glared at Brax. "Are you serious? You think we're just gonna start talking about the surf and I'll forget everything that's happened. Get stuffed Brax", he said. As he went to walk away, Brax placed his hand on Casey's chest to stop him. "Get off me!", Casey shouted as he pushed Brax's hand away. Brax looked down at the sand rubbed his brow. "Look, I stuffed up. I know that", Brax said watching as Casey laughed sarcastically. "I know that what I've done is unforgiveable, I know that. But Case, the boys are plannin' somethin' big. I don't wanna see you get hurt", Brax said as he placed his hands on his hips.

Casey looked at his big brother. His eyes glazing over with unshed tears. The man he used to look up to was now someone he couldn't bear to be around. Gazing out at the surf he thought about the good times he'd had with Heath and Brax, then he remembered all the awful things and he could feel the hurt inside welling up inside him. "Yeah well it's too late for that", Casey said. The brothers stared each other done for a moment, and then Casey walked away. Brax stood alone on the beach. In the distance he spotted Charlie and Ruby walking passed the Surf Club with a labrador. The dog wasn't fully grown yet but it was definitely over half way there and by the guide dog traing vest it was wearing, Brax knew it wasn't a family pet. He and Charlie had discussed her aversion to dogs, but he knew she would do anything for for her daughter so it made sense. He watched on as the woman he loved walked further down the way, and once they were out of sight, he made his way up the beach to attend to some business.

"Charlie, you don't have to wait. April's on her way, she'll be here in a couple of minutes", Ruby said as she and her mother sat outside on the decking of the diner overlooking the wharf. Charlie made no effort to move. After the threat she had received from Brodie, there was no way she was letting Ruby out of her sight. Not for a single second. "No it's okay. I can wait", she said pettung Jacob on the head. It was weird. Charlie hated dogs, but she had taken a liking to Jacob. "Charlie, I'll be fine. Irene and Leah are watching me from the kitchen and there's plenty of people around. It's not like anyone is going to run off me", Ruby said with a reassuring smile. _If only she knew_, Charlie thought to herself and as she cupped her daughters hand in her own..

She never told Ruby about the threat. Deep down she knew she had to tell her, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Ruby was still having terrible dreams from the fire, Charlie couldn't bear to add somethng else to the list for her to worry about. Luckily, she was saved from coming up with an excuse by the appearance of April. "Hey Charlie", she greeted the elder Buckton as she took a seat opposite the mother and daughter duo. Charlie waved at the younger girl and smiled. Standing up, she kissed Ruby on the top of her head and left them to it. But not before making Ruby promise to call her if she needed anything. Once Charlie had left, April and Ruby got down to the business of discussing Ruby's somewhat complicated love life.

"I though it was bad when I started having feelings for Dex when I was with Xavier", April said as she thought back to her own experience with complex matters of the heart. "But you have to contend with your ex boyfriend befriend being back in town pretty much doing anything for your attention. Then you've got Casey back in town and now his brother has even admitted to having feelings for you. Talk about love square", April finished as she tried to wrap her head around it all. "Thanks April. That's made everything so much better", Ruby responded sarcastically. She was hoping April would have something positive to say, but even she found Ruby's prediciment a tricky one to navigate. "Well the thing is, once you figure out in your own head where it is that your hear lies, then that's the hard part over with", April said as she took a sip of her coffee.

Ruby raised an eyebrow at what April said, finding that statement slightly amusing. "Really. Figuring out which of the THREE guys I have feelings for is the easy part. So what exactly is the hard part then?", she asked as she broke off a piece of her muffin and fed it too Jacob. April placed the cup back down on the table and gazed back up at her friend. "Well, two of the guys who have feelings for you are brothers, how do you think they're going to feel if you choose one brother over the other?", April pointed out. Ruby groaned as she digested what her friend had said. She was right. If it ever came down to it, how could she choose between brothers? At least with Geoff a positive or negative outcome would be easier as they could both just move on. But how do you date one brother while the other one watches on?

"You know, I really not to stop asking you for advice", Ruby said mockingly. April laughed as she realised, she really hadn't been that helpful. At that moment, Heath walked passed them and made his way into the diner. "Speaking of admirers. Heath's just walked into the diner", April said as she turned her attention back to Ruby. "Maybe now's the perfect opportunity for you two to talk", April reasoned as she noticed he was on his own rather than with his usual crowd. Ruby nodded and asked April to help her into the diner. Grabbing a hold of Jacobs special guide dog handle lead, she stood up and made her way into the diner with April walking along side. Once they were near the counter, April pulled Ruby to a halt.

"Heath, can we talk?", she asked. Turning around Heath's gaze fell upon the two teens and the dog. "I'm busy", he replied monotonously. April nudged Ruby with her elbow, to encourage her to keep at him. "Heath, please", she asked. Turning his attention back to Ruby, he could feel himself softening to her. But he knew he had to keep strong so he laced on the tough guy persona. "Alright, but not here. Down the beach", he said as he placed a hand on her arm and lead her out of the diner. April followed behind but assured Heath she would keep her distance while he talked to Ruby. Normally if it had been anyone else he would have told her to get lost, but since it was Ruby and she was at a disadvantage being blind, he agreed.

As they headed for the beach, Heath linked Ruby's arm and watched as April walked over to the wooden fence to wait for Ruby to return. Once they were down a fair distance, they sat down. Ruby patted down Jacob who sat down beside her, while Heath stared out at the surf. Hoping that there wouldn't be some long winded deep conversations to be had. In fact he wished he had never said anything in the first place. Now everything felt weird between them. "Why didn't you tell me you had feelings for me?", Ruby finally asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. Heath turned to her and then looked away. "Look what I said, just forget it. Alright, it's not like anythin's gonna happen", he said as he fidgeted with the sand.

"I can't just forget about it. Heath what was the point in saying it, just to push it aside like it never happened?", Ruby asked, curious as to why Heath wanted to just move on like nothing was ever said. "Because I'm no good for you! Your mum hates me. She doesn't want me anywhere near you. Your my little brothers girlfriend. I don't fit in to your perfect little world. I'm a Riverboy, always have been always will be", he said as he flung a stone with force towards the waters edge. Ruby lowered her head and allowed Heaths words to sink in. What he said was right. Charlie would never condone anything happening between them and as for him being a Riverboy, she could understand where he was coming from.

Being a Riverboy was the only life Heath understood. It was the only life he knew. Part of her wondered why Brax had spent so long keeping Casey out of all that business, but not Heath? Maybe if he had tried harder, Heath wouldn't be the trouble maker he was today. The Riverboy system confused Ruby. There was the side that was all about brotherhood. Looking out for one another and taking care of those who had no real family to take care of them. But then there was the side that was all about doing whatever was necessary to bring in money and take of people who crossed them. What exactly where they teaching teen s like Casey and Stu, by living this kind of life. Why did Brax allow young guys who still had a chance of a bright future, get involved in such a system. If he ever had a child how would he feel if someone allowed his own son to be a part of a group like that one day?

"Heath, being a Riverboy doesn't define you. It's what you choose to do with your life that defines you", she said reaching out and placing a hand on Heath's shoulder. "And you might be able to just forget what you said. But I can't. And I want you to know that whatever I decide, it's not going to based on what Charlie or Casey or anybody else thinks. It's going to be based on how I feel", she said as she removed her hand. Heath turned his gaze to the girl sitting next to him. He watched as the sunshine glistened against her hair, the breeze gently passing through it making is dance with the wind. "I can't change who I am.", he said as he thought about the man he was, the things he had done. Ruby nodded her head. "I know that. You don't have to change Heath. But you don't always have to be this way either. You can be more. You just have to decide whether or not you want to make something of yourself, or you want to be stuck living your life, going from one fight to the next. Making one deal after another", she said as she she stood up.

As he saw her move, Heath also stood up and said his goodbyes. As Ruby grabbed a hold of Jacobs handle leash, a couple of school aged boys from Ruby's year, were playing football, when one of them knocked into her catching a football. Stumbling backwards, she managed to regain her balance just in time. "Hey watch it", she shouted, not knowing where to look. Laughing at what she had said, the young man who turned out to be Scott Parker, crouched down and stared into her face. "Or you'll what? You'll sort me out", he waved his hand in her face mocking her disability. "You can't even see me", he said. His laugh becoming louder and harsher. Just then, the Scott felt a hand grab him around the back of the neck and he was stunned into silence.

"She can't, but I can", he said as he flung Scott head first into the sand. Scott, coward when he realised who had grabbed him. "Not so hardy now are ye mate. Get up", he said, not wanting to look like a bully by beating Scott up on the ground. "GET UP!", hes shouted as he grabbed Scott by his top and pulled him to his feet. Pulling his arm back, Heath sent his fist crashing into Scott's face with blunt force. He could feel the blood from the boys nose against his knuckles. "Not so tough now are ye?", Heath said as he hit Scott again. And again. Until, "Heath STOP IT", came Ruby's voice as she heard him lay blow after blow on the teen. After watching the commotion from where she was stood April came rushing downt he sand to where Ruby was standing.

Heath was about lay another blow, when he looked up at Ruby who looked startled as April tried to comfort the upset girl. Standing up he rubbed the blood in his shirt. Gazing between Ruby and Scott, Heath lowered his head, realising he had made a big mistake. "I'm, I'm sorry", he said as he took off down the sand. Turning to Ruby, April hugged her friend and turned around to see if she could spot Heath but he was gone. Scott, pulled himself up off the sand as his friends came over to see if he was alright. April glared at him having heard him mock Ruby from where she was standing. "Come on, let's go back to my place", April said as she led Ruby up the pathway and headed for her house.

Meanwhile at Irene's, Charlie and Bianca had engaged in a lengthy discussion about Brodie's threats and what it meant for the Bucktons, the Braxtons and even the town. At one point Charlie had found herself in floods of tears as she though of the damage Brodie and the Riverboys could inflict on anyone who dared cross them. All she wanted to do was keep Ruby safe. Ever since the fire in the National Park she had made it her priority in life, that no matter what sacrafices she had to make, whether it was her love life, her career, she would make it her mission in life to make sure that no harm would come to her daughter. Which left her with serious qestions to answer after the note from Brodie.

"So what are you going to do?", Bianca asked as she took another sip of her coffee. They had just discussed the possible scenarios of what could happen of Brodie's threats came to frutition. And to say they made Charlie feel sick, was an understatement. She had thought about going to her bosses, but if they kicked her off the force, she would have her priviledges removed and that would mean her police issue revolver would be taken away. Which Charlie couldn't let happen as it was her only source of back up protection if she ever needed it. But she couldn't depend on Brax to fix it, because she knew they were targeting him too.

"Honestly, I'm thinking about packing everything up and getting myself and Ruby out of here. Get as far away from this place as I can. As far away from the Riverboys as I can", Charlie said with a tear in her eye. Bianca looked saddened by the idea of her best friend leaving the Bay. What made it worse was, Charlie was leaving of her own freewill, she was leaing because she felt like she had no other choice. "Charlie, surely you can find a way out of this that doesn't involve leaving town. What about your friends, your job?", Bianca asked as she sat closer to her friend, bridging the gap between them. Charlie shook her head, remembering how hard she had tried to think of another solution. "Ruby's my daughter. If anything happened to her, my life, it wouldn't be worth living without her in it", she said as she wiped away a fallen tear. Bianca placed a comforting hand on her friends arm. "If leaving the Bay, is the only way I can keep her safe, then that's what I have to do", Charlie said as she looked Bianca right in the eye.

At that moment, April and Ruby walked through the door. April had arm wrapped around Ruby who had celarly been crying. Turning to the teens, Charlie noticed the tears glistening on her daughter's cheeks and she stood up, worry setting in. "Rubes, what's wrong?", she asked as she hurried over to where the two girls were stood. But the younger Buckton said nothing. "April and Heath were talking in the beach and some guys from school showed up. One of them started making fun of Ruby and Heath kind of went all Rambo on him", April said as she went to sit next to Bianca. "WHAT?", Charlie said as the image entered her head. "Rubes are you okay?", she asked. Ruby just simply nodded her head. "Charlie can you take me home?", she asked. "Yeah of course", Charlie said as she turned to Bianca who smiled and nodded her head. "We'll talk later", Bianca said. With that Ruby and Charlie exited the house and headed home. Unaware that they were being watched...

**Next Time: **

***Charlie comforts Ruby after the incident on the beach**

***Charlie awakens the next morning to find Ruby's bed empty with the teen nowhere to be found**

***Brax, Heath, and the rest of Summer Bay organise a search to find the missing teen. Where is she?**

***The police arrive on Charlie's doorstep with devastating news that will change her life forever**


	16. Chapter 16

Sitting on the couch in the living room, Ruby had just finished explaining to Charlie what had happened down on the beach. Although upset at the fact that Heath blatantly ignored her warning, she was kind of glad he was around to thump the guy who had been hassling Ruby. At least the motherly side of her was. The cop side of her was telling her that she charge Heath for assault on a minor. But, after thinging it through, she decided to overlook the situation as a moment of madness that got out of hand. At least for her daughters sake. Heath may have overstepped the line, but his intentions were in the right place. It was just a pity he allowed his temper to rule his head.

"Did talking to Heath make things any clearer in your head?", Charlie asked, hoping that he change in topic would take Ruby's mind off the fight on the beach. Gesturing for the her cup of tea, Charlie picked it up off the coffee table and handed it to her, making sure that Ruby's grip on the cup was steady before realing her on grasp on it. "Not really. I mean, at least I know where I stand with him. Which is something I suppose. And it's pretty obvious that Geoff wants to be more than friends", Charlie nodded her head to herself, understanding where Ruby was coming from. Geoff had made it pretty obvious that he wasnted to get back together with Ruby. Although something inside Charlie was telling her that she believed that ship had sailed for them as a couple. But maybe she was wrong. Maybe time would relight the fire that once burned between them.

"And what about Casey? Have you talked to him yet?", Charlie asked. She knew that the youngest Braxton had been back in town a fe days, and although she understood that after everything that had happened between his family and hers, part of her was really annoyed that he had been avoiding Ruby. "No. I know he's been hanging around the beach surfing but, part of me doesn't want to pressure him. If we're going to talk he needs to want to talk to me too. Otherwise what's the point?", Ruby said as she realised that it had to be a joint effort on both their parts. Ruby had tried to get in contact with Casey a couple of times, through Xavier and Dex, but she still hadn't heard anything. Now it was his turn to reach out. "I've reached out to him more than once. Now it's his turn", she said as she took a sip of her tea.

Charlie leaned her elbow against the back of the couch, rested her head in her hand and gazed at her daughter. "And if he doesn't?", she asked. Ruby tilted her head back, trying to stop the tears in her eyes from falling. "If he doesn't, well at least then I'll know there's no future for us", she said. And with those last words Ruby burst into tears, as she realised that her relationship with Casey may actually be over. Watching as her daughter fell apart before her eyes, Charlie took the cup from Ruby and placed it down on the coffee table. Then she reached over and pulled her daughter into her arms and held her close. Stroking her hair, she waited patiently for Ruby's tears to subside and after a couple of minutes everything settled down again.

"Come on, it's getting late. You should go to bed, get some sleep. We'll talk more in the morning", Charlie said as she rubbed Ruby's arm. Shaking her head, Ruby sat up and wiped away her tears. Charlie stood up and grabbed a hold of Ruby's arm and led her towards the bedroom. Once inside, Ruby sat on the bed while Charlie retrieved her daughters pyjamas from the dresser on the side of the room. Removing them from the drawer, she placed them on the bed and left Ruby in privacy to change. Heading down the hall, Charlie entered her own room and proceeded to change into her night dress and then put on her stain blue satin night gown. Leaving her room she headed back down to her daughter's bedroom. Knocking, she heard Ruby telling her to come in.

"You ready to check your levels?", she asked as she grabbed Ruby's insulin kit from on top of the dressing table. Ruby nodded her head and sat up cross legged on the bed. Opening up the kit, Charlie removed the BSL monitor, the trips and the finger pricker, as she liked to refer to it. Ruby raised her hand to Charlie and felt the prick of the needle as it pierced the tip of her index finger. Placing the strip near the spot of blood, Charlie waited for it to turn red and then placed it in the monitor. After a couple of seconds the reading came up and Charlie began preparing the correct dosage in the insulin pen. Once she had double checked it and was sure it was right, Ruby lifted her top to reveal her abdomen and waited as Charlie, wiped it down with and antiseptic wipe and injected the insulin. When she was finished Ruby lowered her top and climbed under the duvet.

Walking over to the dresser, Charlie placed the used needle tip into the yellow sharps container and then placed the insulin kit into the top drawer. Turning around she walked over to the bed and leaned down, placing a kiss on Ruby's forehead. Walking over to the door she flicked off the light and left the room, shutting the door tight. Making her way back down the hall she walked into her room and closed the door behind her. Removing her dressing gown, she walked over to her dressing table and removed her chain and placed it in the jewellery box. As she climbed into bed she heard a noise outside. Listening intently she waited for another noise, but there was nothing. Putting it down to the wind oustide, she climbed under her duvet and fell fast asleep.

The following day, Charlie awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her window. The sun beaming in through the gap in the curtins alerting her that morning had well and truly arrived. Sitting up, Charlie couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. That something was misplaced or missing. Climbing out of her bed, she walked over to her wardrobe, grabbed her dressing gown off the door and exited her room. Rushing down the hall, she opened Ruby's bedroom door to find her bed empty. "Ruby", she called out as she made her way for the living room. Still nothing. "Rubes", she called out again. But still no answer came. Running into the kitchen, Charlie was disheartened to find it empty. Leah rushed into the living room, startled by her roomates calls for her daughter.

"What's going on?", she asked as Charlie came back into the living room. "I can't find Ruby", Charlie said, her voice trembling as she spoke. Her memory replaying the night she received the threat from Brodie. "Well did you call her on her mobile. Maybe she went out?", Leah tried to reason, noticing that Charlie was overreacting to what she thought was a simple situation. Running down the hall to her room, Charlie picked up her phone and dialled her daughter's number as she made her way back into the living room to find Leah sitting at the dining table. "She's not answering", Charlie said as she flung the phone at the couch. Leah stood up and tried to think of a logical explaination. "Okay well, Casey's just got back into town, maybe she went over to his house to talk", she said.

Charlie ran her hands through her hair, trying with all her might to surpress the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Leah, she's blind. She's never gone anywhere on her own since the accident. Especially not when the Brodie and the boys are still out there", Charlie said, this time she couldn't hold back the tears. Leah looked her housemate in the eye, seeing the fear that was there, she knew this was more serious than she originally thought. "You don't think they've done something do you?", Leah asked, her own fear growing for the young teen who was like a surrogate daughter to her. "They've already tried to hurt her once. They're capable of anything", Charlie said as she rested her hands against the back of her neck trying to regulate her breathing.

"Okay, look, get dressed, I'll call Miles and Irene tell them Ruby's gone missing. I'm sure with a few more people out looking for her we'll find her", Leah said as she placed a comforting arm on Charlie's back. Turning her gaze to Leah, Charlie tried to think positively and nodded at her friend. "Who knows, she'll probably show up down the beach with Indi or April wondering what we're all the fuss is about", Leah said as she picked up the house phone and walked in the living room. Glancing at the fridge, Charlie spotted the picture of her, Ruby and Leah. Wiping away her tears, she dashed across the living room and down the hall to get dressed. Determind to find Ruby at all costs.

"Hey, have you seen Ruby Buckton anywhere?", Miles asked one of his students as he walked into the Surf Club, having already checked the diner and everywhere in between. When the girl shook her head to indicate that she hadn't, Miles lowered his head in defeat and walked over to the juice bar where Leah was waiting. "Any luck?", he asked her as leaned an arm on the glass counter. "None. I've checked the beach, I've talked to Indi, April, Xavier. Even Casey. None of them have seen her today", Leah said her own worry starting to build for the young teen. Gazing around at the young crowd that was hanging around the club, Leah asked Miles to ask a couple of them if they knew anything.

Just as Miles made his way to the other side of the room, Irene appeared, looking as dejected as Leah. "I've searched everywhere between here and my house. I even checked around some of the other streets but no one has seen her", Irene said, annoyed that she had come up with nothing. "April's roped in Dex, Romeo and Indi to get around the school kids", she explained as she crossed her arms. Miles returned shaking his head indicating that he had come up with nothing from asking around the teens in the Surf Club. "Well where could she be? She can't have just disappeared off the face of the earth", Miles said as he scratched his beard. Trying desperately to think of any other place Ruby could be.

At that moment, a very anxious looking Charlie appeared in the club, looking desperate for some news. "Have you found her?", she asked. The three disappointed faces staring back at her said it all. Ruby had not been found. Charlie rubbed her forehead, trying to stop herself from breaking down in the middle of the Surf Club. The other three exchanged glances and came to a silent conclusion. "Charlie, maybe it's time you called the police and got them involved", Miles said as delicately as he could. Charlie gazed tearfully at him. As a police officer she knew from experience that calling for police assistance or back up was usually the last resort in a missing persons incident. It also usually meant that there was more than a concern that harm could come to that person.

But she knew she had to do it. She had to find her daughter. She needed to find her daughter to bring her home and take care of her. Removing her phone from her pocket she dialled the number of the station. "Watson it's Charlie. I need to report a missing person", she said her voice breaking as she spoke. "It's Ruby", she said. Miles, Irene and Leah watched on helplessly as Charlie sat done silently on one of the chairs. Removing her phone from her handbag, Irene turned to the others. "I'm gonna give Morag a call. Tell her what's going on. Maybe Alf can rally up some troops as a back up plan to broaden the search in case the cops come up with nothin", she said. Miles and Leah nodded. "Yeah that's a good idea", Leah said as Irene walked off to a quiet corner.

An hour had passed since Charlie had made the call to the police and Watson and many of the other officers in the station had gone out on patrol to search for Ruby. All banding together to help their boss. Unfortunantly Watson and Avery had come up with nothing and were now in the Surf Club talking to Charlie. "So what now?", Charlie asked although she had a fair idea what they were going to say. "We're going to widen our search to outside the Bay. Including back roads, bush landand the National Park. We've got police officers broadening their search right now and Alf's rounded up memebers of the voluntary rescue service and some other locals to help us cover more ground", Watson said as she glanced over to the pool table where Alf, Palmer, Sid, Miles, Romeo and other locals were focused on a map of the area.

"We're going to do everything we can to find Ruby", Watson said as she placed a hand on her collegues shoulder and gaave it and encouraging squeeze. Charlie nodded her headed but kept her it lowered, facing the ground. Afraid to let her workmates see her cry. A voice coming in over their walkie talkies prompted Watson and Avery to make tracks and they headed out of the Surf Club and towards their squad car. Back inside, Alf and the rest of the men discussed breaking up into teams so that they could cover more ground. At the same time Alf kept an eye on Brax who had been hovering around trying to get involved, but finding himself getting knocked back by the other residents. After being caught up in the brawl, a huge dent had formed in his reputation and everyone looked at him as nothing more than a Riverboy.

But he was determind to do this. He had to find Ruby. For Charlie's sake and Casey's. He also found that deep down he wanted to find her for his own sake. She was a part of Charlie, and he loved her, which meant he also had a love for Ruby. Which meant he needed to keep her safe from the rest of the boys. Looking up he spotted Heath walk in the door. Making his way over to his younger brother, he grabbed him by the arm and led him towards the door. "We need to head out to the National Park", Brax said as he rubbed his face with his hand. "What, why?", Heath asked as he gazed around at all the commotion inside the premises. "Ruby's gone missin'. They're sendin' out a serch party. But I think Brodie and the boys have got to her, now we need to find her before they do anythin' stupid", he said as he kept his gaze staring directly forward as not arouse suspicion from anyone.

After hearing what Brax had said Heath found his temper reaching a fever pitch at the though of Brodie harming Ruby. Turning around Brax bolted out the door and headed for his truck. Brax following close behind. "I swear to God if Brodie's laid a finger on her, I'll kill him with my bear hands", he said as he slammed his hand down on the bonnet of the car and then jumped into the passenger seat. Brax watched on confused. Why was his brother so bothered by this? As far as he knew, he and Ruby didn't have much of a relationship. Knowing better than to question Heath when he was rattled up, Brax kept his questions to himself and buckled himself in as Heath bolted out of the car park.

"Charlie, maybe you should go home and wait for news there. You'll be more comfortable and besides, you're not doin' yourself any good sittin' around here drivin' yourself crazy wonderin' what's goin' on", Irene said as she sat on a seat opposite Charlie. "It doesn't matter where I am. As long as Ruby's missing my mind won't rest. I should be out there looking for her", Charlie said glancing over at the rescue squad. "No darl, you need to be at home waitin' for Ruby with open arms. The police and half the town are out there looking for her. Go home. Wait for her there", Irene said as cupped Charlie's hands in her own. Leah, having heard what Irene had said, walked over to where they were sitting.

"Why don't you come home with me now. Miles is going out soon, he can contact us if there's any news", Leah said. Sensing that neither of the women were going to let the subject go, Charlie reluctantly stood up and headed for the door in a trance like state. Leah following her to the car park. The drive home was quiet, but luckily it only took them five minutes to arrive in the driveway. Getting out of the car, Charlie opened the back door and headed straight for her bedroom. Passing no remarks as went. Closing the room door behind her, she kicked off her shoes and climbed onto her bed. Sitting on the bed, she looked at the photo of her and Ruby on her bedside cabinet and finally allowed herself to cry.

Brax and Heath had been scouring the National Park for over and hour, and still they found no sign of Ruby. Eventually they had found themselves linking up with some of the voluntary rescue crew and police officer who had brought along sniffer dogs. Although they weould have preferred to have conituned on their own, eventually they found there was no way they could keep searching on their own. They had no flash lights if it got dark. No emergency equipment or training. At least this way they could keep searching and have the skill necessary. Alf glared at Brax as he brushed passed him. If they had been meeting under any other circumstances, he would have given him an earful there and then. But he had to get on with the task at hand.

"OVER HERE", came the voice of one of the officers. Everybody rushed over to the spot where Avery was standing. Alf and the other stared in disbelief at the sight of a badly disfigured body laying in a shallow grave. "Stone the flammin' crows", Alf said under his breath. Heath gazed down at the body. Nobody could make out if it was Ruby or not. The remains were in a terrible state and the face was completely deformed. "That's Ruby's necklace", he said as he recognised the chain. He could feel himself gtting nauseous as he realised that the body could quite possibly be that of the young missing teen. "There's no way we can ID the body this way", Avery said. Watson noticed that there was blood was a substantial amount of blood next to the body, near the head.

"No but if we take a blood sample we can run it for DNA testing", she said as Avery nodded at what she had said. One of the other officers walked over to the scene and collected a sample of the blood. "I'll radio the station and get the crime scene team up here and order a rush on this sample", she said as she waved the container in front of Avery and headed back towards the direction of the squad car. Heath, Brax and the rest of the Bay locals stood back in disbelief as the reality set in that the body may be that of Ruby. With that the rest of the officers told the volunteers to head home as it was now and official police investigation.

Hours had passed since Charlie had arrived home and still there had been no word from the volunteers or the police. Leah sat next to her friend on the living room couch while Bianca sat on the in the chair opposite them. Desperately hoping of news. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it", Leah said as she stood up. Charlie and Bianca sat in silence as they waited in hope that it was Ruby. Unfortunantly they were wrong. Leah emerged back into the living room, followed by Watson and Avery. Charlie stood up and walked around the couch standing next to Watson and Avery. Bianca stood also stood up and walked over to where her friend.

"Charlie, you might want to sit down", Watson sopke quietly as realised just how difficult this was going to be. Charlie shook her head. "No, I don't want to sit down I just want you to tell me where Ruby is!", Charlie responded with force in her voice. Watson and Avery glanced at each other and then back at Charlie, who eyed the two of them up with fear and anguish deep in her eyes. "We found a body in the National Park. It was petty badly disfigured. There was no way we could ID it. So, we sent a blood sample to the lab for DNA testing", Watson explained. Charlie could feel her gut turning inside out as she waitd for what came next.

"It was Ruby's blood Charlie", Avery said. With those last words, a dagger struck Charlie through the hearts as she collapsed on the ground into a fragile heap. Bianca held her in her arms as she screamed in agony for the daughter she had lost. Never would she see her precious baby girl again. Watson and Avery offered their condolences as they left their collegue to mourn the death of ther child. As Bianca tightened her hold on Charlie, she glanced up at Leah and both women wondered in that moment, how Charlie would ever cope without Ruby in her life. But the truth was there before their eyes. Without Ruby, Charlie was nothing more than a broken shell. The warmth leaving her body to be replaced by sorrow and grief. Her baby was gone, and no one could bring her back...

_...In a dark damp room in the middle of nowhere, Ruby sat tied to a chair. Blood seeping from an open wound on her head. Laughing, Brodie walked over to her and placed his hands on either side of her. "You're mum is gonna know what it feels like to lose a child. She's gonna know a pain like no other", he said as he began to laugh harder. Looking down at the drip laced along Ruby's arm, he noticed the blood bag on the hanger was full. Ripping the needle out of her arm, Ruby let out a scream. Unhooking the bag, he put it down on the table beside him. "A pain so bad, she'll wish she'd never set eyes on good ol' Darryl Braxton", he said. Laughing, he picked up the bag of blood and walked out the door shutting it behind him. Closing Ruby off from the outside world..._

**Next Time:**

***The people of Summer Bay mourn the loss of Ruby Buckton at a rememberance ceremony**

***Heath nurses a broken heart by getting drunk on the beach**

***Bianca, Leah and Irene ponder what this could mean for Charlie's future**

***Brax takes his anger and frustration out on Angelo's **

***Charlie becomes consumed by grief as she remembers the daughter she's lost**


	17. Chapter 17

The residents of Summer Bay all descended on the beach during the evening to say goodbye to a much loved member of their community. Although, against tradition, everybody had declined to wear the usual black attire and wear bright colours, while wearing a purple flower pinned to their clother. Ruby's favourite colour. It was Charlie's idea. You see to Charlie, her daughter was like a burst of colour on a dark day. Always bringing to a smile to the face of people who needed cheering up. Even when Charlie was living through her darkest days, Ruby was that shining light that made everything glow in technicolour. That's why she had specified that nobody wear black.

This would be the last thing she would ever be able to for her child, she wanted people to remember Ruby in good times, not in bad. That's why the beach had been chosen as the last place that they would say their goodbyes. It was the place her daughter loved the most and Charlie wanted this to be the place where she could come to feel close to her. A place of solace. As she walked down the beach with Bianca and Leah by her side, Charlie gazed out at the ocean. She had made a promise to herself that morning that she would be strong. That she would make this day special for Ruby. But as they day progressed, she could feel her emotions taking over as one by one, friends and loved one's took turns saying a few words about the girl who had been a huge part of their lives.

April walked up and turned to look at everyone standing before her. She was nervous about speaking in front of a crowd. But she silently encouraged herself to do it. For Ruby. "When I first came to the Bay, I didn't really fit in. In fact Ruby was one of the first people I butted heads with", April remembered with a laugh. "But we got passed that. We eventually called a truce and from that moment on, I got to know someone who I admired a great deal", April said with a smile as she looked up at Charlie who was staring at her with tears in her eyes. Her violet dress blowing ever so slightly in the gentle wind. Bianca who was standing next to Charlie placed her arm around her best friend and gave it a gentle squeeze. Knowing that, while it was heart warming to hear people speaking so highly of Ruby, it was also heart breaking.

"You see Ruby was someone I always wanted to be. Strong, feisty, and not afraid to voice her opinions. She taught me to stand up and fight for what I believe in. She was my best friend. She was everything I wanted to be", April said as her tears began to fall. "And I will miss her everyday", she finished. Walking back to the crowd, she fell into the arms of Dex and he held her tight as she pulled herself together. Bianca smiled at her little sister and mouthed 'you okay'. April simply nodded her head and dabbed under her eyes with a tissue. Removing Bianca's arm from around her shoulder, Charlie straightened herself and indicated that she was going to say a few words. Leah asked her if she was sure. Her only response was a nod of the head from her housemate.

Walking up to the spot where everybody else had stood previously, Charlie gazed around at the crowd and smiled slightly at the variety of colour. Everyone had clearly done their best to make this day special. Suddenly her eyes fell upon Brax, standing way back in the crowd. Wearing a white buttoned down shirt, the sleeves rolled up, with a purple satin tie hanging loosely around his neck. He had heard about the ceremony by word of mouth and, remembering Ruby mention her favourite colour over dinner with Casey one night, he decided to honour the young girls memory by donning the purple tie as a mark of respect. This didn't go unnoticed by Charlie as their eyes met.

Suddenly remembering where she was, Charlie snapped out of her trance like state and looked down. Gathering together her thoughts. Gazing back up, she looked around at her friends and she could see them encouraging her with their smiles. Taking a deep breath, Charlie pulled herself together and though about her daughter. "I didn't conceive Ruby under the best circumstances. In fact I conceieved her in the worst way imaginable", she said as she saw people remembering the revelation of Charlie's rape. "At the time I though getting pregnant was the worst thing that ever happened to me. I just wanted it to go away. I thought my life was over", Charlie said as she thought back to her younger self. "But they day Ruby was born. The day I held my baby girl in my arms for the very first time, my life changed forever. Because on that day, the greatest thing that had ever happened to me, arrived into my life", she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Until that very day, I didn't think it was possible to love someone so much that you would literally lay down your life for them. But Ruby coming into my life changed all that", Charlie said as she wiped away a stray tear and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Everyday the love I had for her grew stronger and suddenly, I found that, she was the only thing in my life that mattered. That made sense", she said, her gazing falling on Brax. "I have never loved or cared for anyone as much as Ruby. And I never will again", Charlie said as she broke down in tears. As she stood there, she could feel the hearts of the people standing before her drop at the words they were hearing. A sadness coming over them all.

Looking up towards the sky, Charlie gripped the chain around her neck tightly as she ran her thumb acoss the back of it. The word 'mum' sending a sharp pain through her heart. "Rubes, you will always be my baby girl. And you will always, ALWAYS, be in my heart. I love you", Charlie said as her legs finally gave out and she collapsed to the sand and sobbed her heart out. Bianca and Leah rushed over to her side and they helped her to her feet. Carefully they led her back to the front of the crowd while Romeo, Geoff, Casey and one other local surfer removed their shirts and picked up their surf boards. Walking over to John, Xavier grabbed a hold of the surf board his step father had been taking care of since the beginning of the ceremony.

Romeo turned to a tearful Indi, and Nicole who had returned from the city with Geoff to say her goodbyes to her best friend. He nodded at them to signal they were ready for them to begin the next phase of the ceremony. Xavier walked over to Charlie and stood before her holding the surf board in front of her. It was a custom built surf board, in two shades of purple. The graphics depicted Ruby surfing a wave with a smile on her face and a lily flower, her favourite, tucked behind her ear. Her name was engrave along the side and all the residents had taken the time to write personal messages to Ruby, that were printed onto the board.

Running her hand across the board, Charlie placed her hand on it and a small tear trickled down her face as she glanced at the message she had writtern for Ruby. Nodding her head, Xavier walked down to the edge of the water and handed the board to Romeo and Geoff. Walking around the gathered crowd, Indi and Nicole handed them all candles to place in their sky lanterns. Indi was hesitant as she advanced towards Brax. She wasn's sure if Charlie wanted him to be involved, but figured since he had made the effort she might as well give him a candle. Brax looked up at her and thought about it. Eventually he accepted the candle.

Nicole walked over to Leah and Bianca and handed them their candles, and then she turned to Charlie. As she handed the candle to the mother of her best friend, she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She could see the sorrow and grief in Charlie's eyes even though the older woman was smiling at her. It was heart breaking. Nicole couldn't even begin to imagine anything happening to George. As a mother, she could understand the heartache Charlie was feeling. With one final glance Nicole walked back over to Indi and everyone watched as Romeo, Geoff Casey and the other local surfer entered the sea carrying the special board with them, as the sun began to set over the Bay.

Back on land, the Bay residents all placed their candles inside their sky lanterns an lit them, keeping a hold of it until it was time to let it go. Once Romeo, Geoff, Casey were out far enough, they released the board and watched as the waves carried it out to sea. At that moment the residents on land, released their lanterns and the sky became illuminated by he gentle glow of the candles flame against the purple and orange background of the setting sun. Taking a step forward, Charlie placed a kiss on her lantern and the released it. Watching as it floated higher and higher into the sky. "Goodbye Rubes", she said under her breath.

As the sun finally set, everybody made their way home. Bianca deciding to return to Leah's to comfort Charlie on what had been the hardest and morst difficult day of her life. Brax watched on as the woman he loved blanked him on her way up the sand. He didn't blame her. If he was in her shoes, he would have done the same thing. It just hurt him that one thing he really wanted, didn't want anything to do with him. Once everyone had left, Brax turned around and gazed at out at the sea at the waves sparkling under the glow of the full moon. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a shadowy figure standing down at the edge of the water.

Squinting his eyes, Brax just about made out the figure of his brother Heath. Not wanting to bother him, and sensing that his younger brother was working through some stuff of his own, he turned on his heel and headed for the Surf Club. Down by the water, Heath took a swig out of the bottle of bourbon in his hand. A tear rolled down his cheek and using the back of his hand he wiped it away. Glancing down, he looked to the hand made wreath he had made. It was decorated in lily white lily flowers and purple roses with little candles placed in between. Leaning down, Heath removed a lighter from his pocket and lit the candles and placed the bottle of bourbon down on the sand.

Picking up the wreath he walked down into the water and and once it reached his waist, he gently released the wreath into the waves and watched as it floated out to sea. Turning around he walked back up to the sand and picked up the bottle of bourbon and sat down. Taking another swig, he relished the burning sensation. Anything was better than the pain he was currently feeling. This was new for Heath. He wasn't used to feeling such strong emotions for someone. Let alone love. Most of the women he had been with had just been a bit of fun. Now, the only person outside his family he had truly cared for was gone. And he didn't know how to handle that.

He thought about going out and looking for revenge. After all, that was what he was used to doing being in the Riverboys. But something Ruby had said to him a while ago while they had been working on her self defence tactics, had resonated with him. "_Violence can only get you so far before you run out of things to hit. What do you do then? Revenge doesn't make the pain or anger go away, it just makes you forget about it long enough to do something stupid that at the end of the day, will just make you feel worse". _He hated to admit it but she was right. Heath knew if he went after Brodie that even if he got justice for what happened to Ruby, it wouldn't make him feel any better. So he had held himself back by tearing lumps out of a boxing bag. His bear knuckles weren't too pleased about it, but at least it kept him from taking it out on some poor innocent in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a silver ring. Ruby had left it in his truck the last time he drove her home and he never got the chance to give it back. It wasn't anything majorly special. Just a plain ring. Removing the black leather necklace he was wearing, he removed the pendent that was on it and tossed it away. Making a loop, he tied the ring around it and tightened it and the put the necklace back on. Gazing down at the ring that hung proudly around his neck. It didn't matter how many women came in and out of Heath's life. He would never forget Ruby Buckton. Downing the last of the bourbon, Heath wiped away his tears and stood up. Making his way home for the first time in days.

Leah jumped up from the couch as she heard a knock at the back door. Walking into the kitchen, she opened the door and smiled when she found Irene waiting outside. "Hi, come in. Bianca and I are just having a coffee. Can I get you one?", Leah said as she stood back. Irene entered the kitchen and stopped. "Ah no thanks darl, I just came by to see how Charlie's doin?", she asked. Leah closed the door and gestured for her business partner and old friend to follow her into the living room. Bianca smiled at her land lady as Leah sat down on the couch next to her and Irene sat in the chair next to them.

"So how's she been since the service?", Irene asked the two women who had been with Charlie throughout the entire day. "Honestly, not good", Bianca said with a sigh. "She took herself off to Ruby's room the second we arrived back here after the service. She hasn't come out since", she finished as she leaned over to pick up her cup of coffee. "We've been taking it in turns to check on her but she doesn't want to talk", Leah said looking at Irene who was taking it all in. "Aw poor love. She's been doin it tough for a while, this was the last thing she needed", Irene said frowning at the thought of the pain Charlie must be in.

"She's got no family left. At least not close family. First losing her mum and then Ross. Having Ruby to look after was what got her through all that. I don't know how she's goin' to deal with this. Losing a child, it's like losing a big part of yourself", she said as sat back in the chair. Leah and Bianca glanced at each other as they both registered what Irene had said. Their hearts went out to Charlie. She was a really good friend to each of them and the thought of the pain she was going through was a difficult to swallow. "Do you think she'll ever be able to get through this?", Bianca asked gazing back and forth between Irene and Leah. "I don't know. Ruby was more to Charlie than just a daughter. She was best friend. How do you deal with something that big? Losing something that means that much to you?", Leah said as she gazed in the direction of the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

Inside Ruby's room, Charlie sat upright on the bed, clutching a photograph of Ruby as a small toddler. Tears falling from her eyes onto the photo as she used her free had to clutch at her chest. Wanting desperately for this aching pain in her heart to go away. It was overwhelming and she didn't know if she could survive it. Putting the photo down beside her she reach towards the end of the bed and picked up Ruby's favourite top. It was the same top her daughter had worn the day before she had disappeared. Holding it up to her nose, she could smell Ruby's scent and she gripped it tightly. Holding on to one of the last few things that kept her feeling close to her daughter.

Turning her head, Charlie's eyes fell upon a framed picture on the night stand beside the bed. It was of Charlie and Ruby together at the beach. It was a couple of months back. Before the Riverboys had shown up in the Bay and before they had moved back into Leah's. Picking the photo frame up, Charlie ran her finger across Ruby's image, remembering how happy they had been that day. Hugging the picture close to her, Charlie slid down in the bed as the floodgates opened and she broke down. Cluting the photoframe and the top close to her, she mourned for the daughter she would never get back. Grief taking over her as emptiness filled her heart and became her closest friend.

Climbing the stairs to Angelo's, Brax loosened the tie around his neck and removed it completely. Feeling freed from it's restraints. It had been a long day. All he wanted to do was have a few glasses of bourbon and then head home to sleep. As he entered his premises he looked up in dismay at the message that had been left for him. Splashed across the wall to his left in red pain were the words _tick tock_. Brax knew all to well that this was a message from Brodie and the boys, alerting him to the fact that it was only a matter of time before they carried out their threat that they were going to make him watch Summer Bay burn.

Looking down at the ground, Brax could feel the anger inside him rising. Anger over what had happened to Casey, to Ruby, to Charlie. Anger over the fact that these men were messing with his life and runining any chance he had of being happy. All he felt was anger and suddenly, Brax snapped. Losing complete control of himself, Brax picked up the closest chair to him and flung it against the wall with as much force as he could. Causing it to crack. Turning around he knocked everything off of the tables in front of him in one quick swoop. He upturned tables. Smashed chairs off the ground breaking them apart. Picking up one of the bar stools he flung it against the glass shelving behind the bar causing it to collapse and break every bottle glass on display. Until finally he ran out of steam.

Catching his breath, Brax gazed around at the destruction around him. Anything that could have been smashed up or tossed had been broken. Just like him. Running his hands along the side of his head, he turned his back to the counter and slid down along it until he reached the floor. Bringing one of his legs up he leaned his arm ontop of his knee and surveyed the damage. Realising he had lost control, he cursed himself. This was exactly what Brodie wanted. He wanted Brax to resort back to his old ways. To prove peoples opinion of him right. Brax knew that needed to change. If he were to stand any chance of getting back at Brodie and the boys, he needed to change things around...

...Ruuuuuuuby", Brodie said in a sing song tone, as he coaxed the teen awake. "Rise and shine princess", he said as he stood over her. Opening her eyes, Ruby winced at the throbbing pain in her head, only aggrevating it and making her diziness worse. "Come on sunshine, we've gotta give you you're insulin shot. Don't want you goin into a coma on us do we", he said sarcastically. Walking behind Ruby he roughly grabbed her hand and pricked her finger, taking a sample of her blood and putting it into the BSL monitor. Measuring out the insulin in the pen, he lifted Ruby's shirt and smirked. "This might hurt", he said.

Jabbing the pen into Ruby's stomach he injected the insulin. "Ow", Ruby whimpered as he removed the needle. Brodie laughed at her as he packed everything away. "You're going to be sorry when my mum finds me. She'll kill you with her bear hands", Ruby said, her voice trembling as the tears fell from her eyes. Brodie clapped his hands together as he laughed hysterically. "Finds you...she thinks your dead", he said leaning in to Ruby's face. "Thanks to a little stunt I pulled. They even had a service for you to say goodbye", he snarled.

Brodie's comments knocked the wind out of Ruby. Her mother thought she was dead. How would she ever get out of this if Charlie didn't come and look for her? Ruby felt her chances of escaping weaken dramatically at what she had been told. If nobody came looking for her, she might as well be dead anyways. Lowering her head, Ruby burst into tears as the reality of the situation became all too real. Brodie just laughed at her tears. Picking up the insulin kit, he walked out of the room. Whistling to himself as he left the young girl all alone...

**Next Time:**

***Charlie and Heath bump into each other on the beach and for the first time ever, they share a heart to heart**

***Brax and Jake talk business**

***The students of Summer Bay High, build a remeberance shrine in memory of Ruby**

***After collecting a bag of Ruby's belongings from the police station, Charlie notices something isn't quite right**

***While viewing the remains at the hospital morgue, Charlie makes a startling discovery!**


	18. Chapter 18

Charlie sat on the beach watching as the waves lapped up against the sand, before rolling back out. Physically she was there, but as had been the case for days now, her mind was clearly somewhere else. As she gazed around at the surf, her eyes eventually feel on Heath who was making his way out of the water. His surf board tucked under his arm. Making his way up the sand, he noticed Charlie watching him and as he got closer he hesitated for a second. Not sure whether he should say anything or not until he remembered that he wasn't Charlie Buckton's favourite person. "Don't worry Serg, I'm not hangin' around", he said as he was about to make his way past her and up the sandy path.

"You don't have to go", she said, speaking to him, but not actually looking at him. At those words, Heath stopped and turned around. Digging his board into the sand, he pulled up his boarder shorts slightly and sat down next to her. Both of them feeling awkward. Usually whenever they were this close to each other, it was because Charlie was runing a strip search for drugs. But this was different. "So, how ye doin?", he asked not sure what else to say. "Stupid question", he said as he turned his attention out to the surf. "How are you. You know I've heard that question more in the last couple of hours than I have in my whole life", she said pulling back the hair that had swept across her face.

"It's stupid really. When something bad happens to someone, you always ask them how they are because you just want to say something to show them you care. It's only when you're at the end of the question that you realise just how empty the words are", she said as she gazed down at the sand wiping away a fallen tear. Heath turned his attention back to her as he listened to what she was saying. For the first time ever he found himself actually taking in what Charlie was saying. "I mean people say them with feeling. But, at the end of the day, they mean nothing. They don't change the pain you're feeling, or make you feel any better. They just remind you of what it is you've lost", she said and at those last words, she instinctively reached up for the chain around her neck. Cupping the pendent inside her hand.

Heath nodded his head. Although they had their differences and had found themselves on opposite sides of the fence, or in most cases, bars, on many occassions, in that moment, he actually felt both himself and Charlie, lowering their guards towards each other. He didn't know if it would last, but at least he could say they had shared one conversation together without poison or venom in their words. Charlie turned around and noticed the necklace hanging around Heath's neck. More importantly, she noticed the ring attached to it. "Nice ring", Charlie said as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.

Gazing down, Heath suddenly became aware of the fact that he was sitting next to the mother of the girl who's ring hung around his neck. Reaching down, he placed his hand around the ring and squeezed it tightly. "Don't worry, I'm not going to ask for it back", Charlie said when she noticed Heath's clutching it closer to his bear chest. "Trust me, I know what it's like to want to hold on to anything you can to feel close to someone you love", she said as she flashed her chain in front of him. Suddenly Charlie's brain froze on the one part of what she had said. Did she actually just acknowledge the fact that Heath Braxton loved her daughter? He was the last man on the planet she ever wanted her daughter being involved with. But then again, she understood exactly what it was like to be in love with someone you shouldn't. The heart wants what the heart wants. And when it wants it badly enough, it won't be ignored.

"I never would have hurt her", Heath said as he turned his attention away from the surf and back to Charlie. She looked up at him taking in his words. "Look, I'm not an idiot. I know you never would have let me anywhere near Ruby in a million years. Once a Riverboy always a Riverboy right", he said with a small sarcastic laugh. "I've stuffed up most things in my life. And I have made pretty much every mistake a guy can make. But I want you to know, that if I could have done anythin' to keep Ruby safe, I would have done it. I'm just, I'm sorry I didn't get to her in time", he finished looking down at the sand fighting back the tears.

There it was. That side of Heath that Ruby had been talking about. That side of him she was desperate for Charlie to see. Heath was a flawed man. There was no denying it. His rap sheet down at the station spoke for itself. But just like Casey, and even Brax, deep down, Heath had a good heart. It just often conflicted with his hot headed ways and his Riverboy lifestyle. After regathering his composure, Heath glanced back up at Charlie. There was something he was curious about and he thought now was the best time to ask it, while they were on friendly enough terms, "I know I gave you and Brax a hard time about being together. But he does love ye. I don't understand why ye can't just work through all this stuff", Heath said as he played with a twig he had found lying next to him.

Charlie sighed. For weeks she had managed to push all Brax related questions to the back of her mind. She wondered how long it would be before they creeped back up again. "It's not that simple", she said as she thought long and hard about the reasons why she could just forgive Brax and get back together, knowing that Heath was going to pursure those reason behind he answer. "Why not? I know your doin' it tough losin' Ruby like that. But don't you want him to be there for ye or somethin'?", he asked. Charlie gazed down and back up again with a mixed look of anger and frustration. "I can't face Brax because I can't stop myself from blaming him for what's happened", she said trying not to take her anger at Brax out on Heath.

"I love him, I do. But everytime I look at him I'm reminded of all the lies he told me. He asked me, he begged me to trust him, and I did. And now I've lost Ruby", Charlie said as her tears started to fall. Heath could see the sorrow in her eyes and he felt bad for pushing the question on her now. "She was the only thing in this world that mattered to me and she's gone. You know what hurts the most? Knowing that, if I had trusted me instincts, instead of letting Brax in, then none of this would have happened and Ruby would still be here now", she said as she wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Standing up, she grabbed her sandles off the sand and and made her way up the sand path towards her car. Leaving Heath with a lot on his mind.

Bianca and Gina were deep in conversation as they made their way down the corridor of the school on their way to the school grounds for yard duty. One of the other teachers had a sub class to prepare for so Gina had decided to fill in with Bianca. "How has April been coping since the ceremony?", Gina asked as she opened one of the double doors and allowed Bianca to exit first. Scratching her forehead, Bianca remembered that night after she had arrived home from Charlie's. She had spent the nigh in her younger sisters room consoling her as she cried over the friend she had lost. "Ugh not great. Ruby was one of her best mates. With all the moving around we did, we were never really in one place long enough for her to make any real friends. Ruby was the first best friend she's ever had. It's been really hard on heaving to say goodbye", Bianca said as she revealed a little about her past.

"How's Xavier? I know he and Ruby were an item once", she said stopping and turning to Gina as they stood in the middle of the yard and discussed how the young teens were coping with the loss of their friend. "Oh more than that. Ruby was Xavier's first love. I mean he dated a girl called Freya before that. But that was more a case of lusting after a bad girl. But Ruby, she changed Xavier. I actually have her to thank for getting him back on the right path. He was a right handful before he met her", Gina said with a smile as she reflected on the affect his son's ex girlfriend had on him. "He's keeping a brave face about it, but I know he's hurting", she said. Bianca nodded understandingly as they continued walking.

As they rounded a corner, they noticed a swarm of students huddled around the school gazebo where Ruby used to practice music with Liam. Glancing around Bianca spotted Miles standing to the side watching the students. Making there way over to him, Gina called over. "What's going on?", she asked. Miles smiled. "The kids have made a rememberance shrine for Ruby in the gazebo. It's pretty amazing", he said. "Mr. Copeland, Ms. Scott, Mrs. Palmer, would you like a rose to put next to the shrine?", one of the students asked, holding a basket with white roses in it. All three of them nodded and took a rose each.

Walking up to the front of the crowd they gazed in admiration at the work the students had done. Sitting in the middle of the gazebo, was a stand with a picture of Ruby sitting at a piano, smiling up at the camera. It was taken during rehersals for Romeo and Juliet and it was framed with flowers. On the ground was a metal candle holder, where the students lit seventeen candles for each year of Ruby's life. Each student present had taken it in turns walking up and placing a flower down in front of the shrine. Miles was the first to walk up and place his flower down. Bianca followed next, kissing the rose and placing down. Gina was the last to make her way up. After placing her flower down, she place her hand in the edge of the picture and quoted the famous poet Khalil Gibran.

"When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight", she said. Turning around she faced the students. "What you have done has shown extradionary character and maturity in each and every one of you. As such I would like to express my gratitude by requesting that all teaching staff reframe from handing out homework for the weekend", she said with a smile on her face. Just as a cheer erupted from the students, she raised her hands to silence them. "However this does not give you free reign to cause trouble. If any students step out of line I will retract this, reward". With that Gina walked down the steps and headed back to her office. Followed closely by Bianca and Miles who had to prepare for their next classes.

Brax pulled his car up outside Tegan's house and hopped out of the car. Gazing around, he made sure no one had followed him. Walking around to the back of the house, he made his way over to the the building that used to a garage but had been converted into a mini apartment. Removing a key from his pocket he unlocked the door and walked in to find Tegan sitting down at the table with Jake sitting across from her, his hands and feet tied down. Looking up at Brax, she saw him gesture his head towards the door for her to leave them alone. Standing up, she was about to walk past Brax when he grabbed her by the arm to stop her. "Don't forget to lock the door on the way out", he said and then released her from his grasp.

Once they were alone, Brax sat down opposite Jake and ripped he tape off of his mouth. "You're gonna regret this. Soon as I get out of here, I'm gonna take a trip down to the cop shop. Show 'em my little battle wound and what you're really like. Your girlfriend too. I'm sure she'll love it", he said with a little smirk. "Nah, nah you won't. Coz you see, you do that, and I'll tell 'em it was you that kidnapped Casey and Ruby and stabbed me that night. They've got the evidence eh, they just don't have a statement", Brax said. Leaning closer, Jake scowled at him. "As far as I'm concerned, you and me, we're square", he said as looked Jake right in the eye.

Turning his head and flaring his nostrils, Jake thought for a minute. If he agree, then Brax would let him go and they could carry on as rivals as before. If he didn't, he didn't know how long he would be here for and he needed to get his gun shot wound looked at. "Okay, fine. You let me go I won't say anythin' to the coppers", Jake finally agreed. "Now will ye hurry up and let me go so I can see a doc?", he said twisting and turning in the chair. Brax nodded. Standing up, he walked around to the back of the chair and began untying the man who had been his rival pretty much since they were teens and first got involved the Mangrove River gang scene.

"The bullet only grazed your abdomen. A couple of stitches will sort it out", Brax said. Jake stood up from the chair and shook his arms. Relishing the feeling of being freed from the retraints that had been holding him down for days. Turning around he stood face to face with Brax. "Alright, not that we're square it shouldn't be too hard for you to open the door and let me out", Jake said wondering why Brax wa stalling. "Nah, we're not done yet. There's one more thing", Brax said as he scratched his arm and stared out the window. "Oh yeah what's that?", Jake asked although he wasn't in the mood for anymore of his rivals threats. "I need a favour", Brax said.

Jake Pirovic laughed harder in that moment than he had in years. Darryl Braxton was asking him, for a favour. "You're kidding right. You hold me hostage for days and now you ask me for a favour. Get over yourself Braxton", Jake said. Brax placed his hand on his hips and tried to look as serious as he could. Wanting Jake to know that this was not a game. It was business. "I'm serious. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours", he said. Jake stood there quietly for a moment and registered what Brax was saying. Normally he would have said no straight away to anything a Riverboy asked him. But then he realised, there could be an advantage in all this for him and his crew. "I'm listening".

Walking into the police station, Charlie felt awkward. Under normal circumstances, she would be walking in dressed in her uniform as a police sergeant and the boss. But today was different. Watson had called her to let her know that Ruby's belongings could be collected. With nothing else to do with her day, except sit around and wallow in her own grief and misery while emptying yet another bottle of red wine, she decided to head down to the station to retrieve the items that had been found at the scene. Watson spotted Charlie form the reception desk and smiled weakly at her collegue. "I'm here for Ruby's things", Charlie said.

"Sure, I'll go get them", Watson replied. Noticing that the place was rather busy, Watson told Charlie to wait in her office and while she wnet to the secure room to grab Ruby's stuff. Turning away form the desk, Charlie walked briskly across the room and entered her office. Shutting the door behind her. Taking a seat at her desk, she placed her head in her hands. Looking back up she spotted the picture of her and Ruby that was sitting next to the computer. Taking a hold of it in her hand she smiled at the sight of her daughter as mind momentarily flashed back to the day the photo was taken. Her trance like state was broken by Watson who walked into the office with the bag in her hands. Handing it to Charlie she stood back to give her boss room.

Gazing at the bag, Charlie hesitated moment when she realised that these were the last items her daughter ever touched. Opening the bag she poured them onto her desk and sifted through them. She picked up the leather strapped bracelet with the silver pendent. A gift given to Ruby by her friends that she never took off. Next she grabbed a hold of the necklace, the same necklace Heath used to identify Ruby. It was one of Ruby's favourite chains. Next she noticed the empty insulin virals. Whoever had taken Ruby obviously didn't want her to die straight away. Staring at the bottle, Charlie found herself taking in ever detail. Suddenly, like a lightening bolt, she noticed something. Something that was very wrong.

"This, this isn't right", she said as she turned to Watson and stood up. "This isn't Ruby's", she said tossing the viral to Watson who analysed it but had no clue why Charlie was pointing this out. "This expiration date says it went out months ago and this isn't the insulin Ruby uses", Charlie stated as she rubbed her brow. "So what? They gave Ruby dodgy insulin?", Watson asked still very confused as to what boss was getting at. Charlie stared at the ground for a moment thinking. If her hunch was wrong, she was risking shattering the image she had of her daughter. But if she was right, then there was a slim chance she may still have a daughter. "I want to see the body", Charlie said as an order not a request. Watson didn't like where Charlie was going with this, but she wasn't about to argue with her about it.

Arriving at the hospital morgue, Charlie and Watson were greeted by the head of staff. As they entered the viewing room, Charlie felt her stomach becoming nauseous. As a police officer, she had seen dead bodies before, but never had she viewed a body that may be that of her own daughter. If it was Ruby, then Charlie was going to need years over therapy to get over this moment. But if it wasn't, then she had a small shimmer of hope, that her baby girl may still be out there. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?", Watson asked, remember how badly disfigured the face of had been. Charlie simply nodded and then gestured for the coroner to pull back the sheet.

Upon seeing the face, Charlie stood back for a second to recompose herself. It was worse than what she had been told. Gazing over the body, everything seemed in order. Staring at the legs the coroner confimed that the right leg had indeed been broken like Ruby's. Charlie has rapidly losing her grip on that slither of hope, until, she had another brainwave. Remembering the fire evacuation at the Surf Club when Ruby had cut her arm and had had stitches put in, she realised that, if this was Ruby, she should have some sort of mark. Raising the arm of the body, Charlie started in shock as she realised, there was no mark. No scar. Nothing. "Oh my God", she said as she stood back. Both Watson and the coroner stared at her. "That isn't Ruby!"...

**Next Time:**

***Charlie reveals the shocking truth to Bianca as she prepares to go to any lengths to find her daughter**

***Heath reveals his true feelings for Ruby to Brax and enlists his help to track her down**

***Geoff and Casey are thrown to together in the rescue mission. Can they work together as a team? Or will their shared feelings for the same girl interfere?**

***The search in on...**

**...But will Ruby be found in time?**


	19. Chapter 19

"Helloooo", Bianca called out as she stepped through the back door of Leah's house, with the intention checking in on Charlie to see how she was doing. She wanted to tell her best friend about the shrine Ruby's fellow students had built in her honour, hoping that it would gve her a small boost. When there was no answer, Bianca made her way into the living room and spotted an open black sports bag on the dining table. Peering inside it, she saw clothes and other various things that someone would pack if they were planning a trip. For a moment she was convinced Charlie was taking a break from Summer Bay and everyone in it. Until she she spotted a few things that didn't fit the criteria of a relaxing holiday.

Glancing at the bulletproof vest that was sitting on the chair next to the table, she placed her handbag done and began sifting through the rest of the bag to see what other items seemed out of place. Finding nothing in the main carrier, she unzipped the side pockets and placed her hand in side to feel around. Suddenly her hand came across a square shaped object. Pulling it out, Bianca was stunned when her eyes fell upon the tazer that was in her grasp. Just as the panic was building inside her, Charlie emerged from the hallway and walked into the living room. Stopped in her tracks by the sight of her friend, Charlie noticed the tazer in Bianca's hand. Before she could explain herself, she was caught of guard by a shriek coming from Bianca.

Suddenly realising why her friend seemed so shocked, Charlie gazed down to her hands, where she was holding her police issued revolver and a box of ammunition. "Charlie what are you doing?", Bianca asked in a high pitched, panicked voice. "I know you're hurting but going after these guys for revenge is not the way to go", she said as she laced the tazer down on the table. Looking at the tazer, then Bianca and finally back down at her hands, it became clear to Charlie whay her best friend was so worried. "What, no Bianca, that's, that's not what I'm doing", she said as she stepped forward and placed the gun and ammo down on the table. Turning to Bianca, Charlie grabbed a hold of her hands and stared down at the ground, taking a deep breath.

"I was at the station today, collecting Ruby's things. Only some of the things that I looked at weren't Ruby's", she explained as he lead Bianca to the couch and sat her down. Bianca stared at Charlie in confusion. She didn't undertand what any of this had to do with why she was carrying around a bag full of weapons. Sensing this, Charlie continued to explain. "I noticed that some of the things they had found on Ruby didn't add up. So Watson and I went to the morgue. To see the body", she said before being cut off by Bianca. "Oh Charlie. Why didn't you call me? I would have gone with you. You know, for suport", she replied as she she squeezed Charlie's hand in a comforting manner. "No Bianca. That's the thing. The body they found...it wasn't Ruby", Charlie exclaimed with a small hopeful smile on her face.

Bianca sat back placing her hand over her mouth. She was in shock. Did she hear Charlie right? "WHAT? Charlie, are you serious?", she asked, her breathing at a complete standstill. "Yeah. Watson's back at the station now. They're putting together a new search. That's why I have my gun and tazer. I'm going on the search too. The clothes are for Ruby when we find her", Charlie said as she stood up and walked back over to the bag. Removing her black hooded zip up sweat shirt, she picked up her bulletpfoof vest and put it in before putting back on her hoody. "You mean if, you find her right", Bianca repsonded, when she realised that Charlie was allowing her hopes to build too high.

"What, you don't think she's alive?", Charlie asked with a harsh tone. Feeling like her best friend was trying to deflate her hopes. Bianca rubbed her brow at Charlie's reaction, knowing she had hit a nerve. "No that's not what I'm saying at all", Bianca said, reaching forward to grab a hold of her friends hand. "I just don't want you to getting your hopes up. Don't get me wrong I'm elated that the search is back on and nothing would make me happier to see you bring Ruby home. But Charlie I don't want to see you hurt again. I want you to be prepared for any outcome", she finished. Sensing the sincerity in Bianca's tone, Charlie gave her a small nod to acknowledge the fact that she had taken what she had said on board.

For the last couple of hours, Charlie had been soaring on a cloud at the idea that daughter may still be out there. Everything else in her mind had quickly become and after though. But hearing Bianca's words and registering what she was saying, she knew her friend was right. She was building her hopes up too high on a small chance that her daughter may still be alive. She needed to be realistic about this. Treat it like any other missing persons case and be professional. In a situation like this she needed to think rationally. Not for her sake but for Ruby's. If her daughter stood any chance of being found it was depending on Charlie keeping a cool head and focussing on on tracking her down. Not by getting into a shoot out with every dodgy looking gang member that she came across along the way.

"Look I really should get a move one. There's a couple of places between here and Mangrove River where Brodie and his boys used to hang around. If I get to them early enough, before the mob arrive, I might be able to talk to some people, see if they have an inside information", she explained as he packed the tazer back in the bag. Scratchin her head she tried to think if there was anythig else she needed, when suddenly it hit her. Dashing down the hallway, Bianca called after her. "Okay, well is there anything I can do?", she called out. Charlie re-emerged holding a small black kit in her hand. "Yeah could you go to the fridge and a grab a couple of the insulin virals and the small cooler bag that Leah left sitting on the top shelf to cool", Charlie asked as she put the kit in the back and loaded up her gun.

Bianca walked into the kitchen and grabbed the medicool bag from the top shelf of the fridge. It was a small blue bag Leah had picked up for Ruby so she could keep her insulin cool while travelling. Never had it come in more useful that on this particular day. Looking around inside the fridge for the insulin, eventually she found them on the second shelf. Bianca removed about four virals and placed them in the bag. Just as she was about to close the door, she stopped and gazed back and forth betwen the bag and the fridge. Before closing the door, she reached in and grabbed two more virals. _Just incase_, she thought to herself.

Walking back into the living room, she handed the bag to Charlie who thanked her with a warm smile. "Speaking of Leah, where is she?", Bianca asked, noticing that Charlie's housemate was absent from the house. "After I told her about Ruby, she went over to Miles' house to let him know what was going on. She called Irene before she left and I think she called Alf to get the Voluntary Resuce team together again. Actually could you follow that up for me?", Charlie asked as she zipped up the sports bag and slung the strap across her shoulder. "Yeah of course, no worries", Bianca replied. Pulling Charlie into her arms, she gave her friend a warm encouraging hug. "Good luck", she said as she released her from her grasp. Charlie simply smiled at her as she followed Bianca out the door and locked it up.

Storming down the beach, Heath headed straight for the waters edge to Brax who was coming out of the surf. "What's your problem?", Brax asked as he dumped his surf board on the sand and picked up his towel to dry himself off. Heath looked at him with an impatient glare. He was in no mood for idle chit chat after what he had just discovered. "Cops are startin' up the search for Ruby again. Looks like she's not dead afterall", he said, trying not to allow his true feelings for the youngest Buckton show to his older brother. Brax gazed at him, unsure if this was true or not. "WHAT?", he said as he threw the towel back on the ground. "Are you serious?", he asked as he ran his hand through his wet hair. Suddenly all his thoughts were erased by one single priority. He had to find Ruby for Charlie's sake.

"Of course I'm serious, I just heard the old bat in the diner announce it to practicaly everyone in the joint", he said kicking the sand, getting agitated by the fact that he was being slowed down. "So are you comin' or what?", he asked, indicating his intention to search for Ruby. Brax looked up at Heath after snapping out of his thoughts. "Yeah of course I am. But why are you so interested?", he asked his younger brother. Heath turned his head and cracked his neck. He didn't want to answer his brothers questions. He just wanted to find Ruby. "I just wanna find her...for Casey's sake", he finished. Hoping to throw Brax off the scent. "Nah, don't lie to me. I wanna know why?", Brax said with a stern tone. He continued to stare Heath down waiting for him to reply. Heath just looked at him. "Why are you doin' it?", asked trying to divert the conversation away from him.

"I'm doin' it because I love Charlie. And I will do anythin' to get Ruby back for her. But this isn't about me. Why are you doin' this?", Brax hated to admit it, but he was suspicious of Heath's motives. There was a growing concern in him that Heath was after getting himself in trouble. "Heath answer me!", he shouted. "BECAUSE I LOVE HER ALRIGH!", Heath shouted back. Flooring his older brother with his admission. "I love her. But I'm not stupid. I know she's Casey's. But I can do this. I don't care if I haven't to beat every last one of 'em to death, I will find her", Heath said as he clenched his fists and stared at his brother with a look of intent.

Brax looked into his brothers eyes and he could see the sincerity. The anger. The truth. For the first time in his life he saw Heath show love for someone outside the Braxton family and he realised that his younger brothe had grown. He could see the fire inside him that was pushing him into action. He knew exactly what it was because it was the same fire that pushed Brax to do anything for the woman he loved. The day of the rememberance ceremony on the beach, Brax say Charlie's heart shatter into a million tiny pieces before him and it tore him up inside to see her in so much pain. All he wanted to do was make it better. Make it go away. And now he was being hifted the opportunity to do that. "Alright let's go", he said picking up his board and towel as he made his way up the sand with Heath following close behind.

In the Surf Club, Alf, Sid, Romeo and Miles were busy suiting up in their high visibility suits when Geoff came rushing in having been informed of the news by Irene. Before he could speak to Alf, a flushed looking Casey also came hurdling into the club having been told of the latest search by Xavier, Dex and April who were out gathering some supplies that Sid and Alf had requested. Both young men were about to speak when Alf cut in. "Ah good to see ye boys. We need all the eyes we can get. I want you two fellas to team up and get crackin' on the search. Geoff with your knowledge of the Bay and Casey's knowledge of the River you two should be able to cover a fair bit of ground", he said as he handed them both high vis suits to put on.

"What you want us to work together?", Casey said pointing his finger back and forth between himself and Geoff. Both of them clearly unimpressed with the team situation. With both of them trying to win the affection of the same girl, it hadn't taken very long for Casey and Geoff to develop a rivalry. even after Ruby's supposed 'death', they still found themselves at odds. Only briefly calling a truce for the rememberance ceremony. But now that there was a chance she was still alive, all were bets were off again. Both of them were determind to find the object of their affection and win her heart. "Well are you two still standin' there for get a flammin' move on", Alf ordered. Geoff and Casey walked over to the pool table, picked up a couple of water bottles each and made their way out of the club.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to pair those to off together?", Romeo asked as he adjusted his jumpsuit. Alf looked. "A little birdie tells me that those two have been fightin' over young Ruby since before she went missin'. I don't need that kind of negative testerone ruinin' our chances of findin' her by turnin' it into some flammin' competition. At least this way they'll stay out of our way. If they have to work together to find Ruby, they can't afford to try and get one over each other", Alf said as he crossed his arms over his chest. Romeo smiled as he realised the sheer genius behind the elder man's plan. "Wonders never cease to amaze me with you Mr. Stewart", Romeo said. Alf laughed at the young man and patted him on the back. Turning around, the engage themselves in creating a game plan with the rest of the volunteers.

"I can't believe I got stuck with you", Casey said as he tide the arms of the jumpsuit around his waist. Kicking an empty can out of his way in frustration as he walked along. Geoff stopped for a second and looked harsly at Casey who continued on his way. "What and you think I'm happy being thrown together with someone like you?", Geoff said as he began walking again. Casey stopped in his tracks at what Geoff had said. "Someone like me? What's that supposed to me?", Casey asked. Geoff turned around and walked back to where Casey was standing. "Someone like you. A Riverboy. A Braxton", he said. At his words, Casey gave him a look of annoyance mixed with anguish as yet again, he found his family name reflecting badly upon him. "You don't anything about my family", he said.

"Don't give me that we're misunderstood bull", Geoff said as he noticed the pained expression on Casey's face. "If your brothers and their low life "mates" had never set foot in this town, Ruby would never have lost her sight, and she would never have been abducted in the first place", Geoff found himself yelling at the youngest Braxton. This was completely out of character for him. Geoff never spoke unkindly of anyone he didn't know personally, but he couldn't help himself. He was angry and as far as he was concerned he needed to blame someone. The Braxtons were the closest he was going to get to Brodie. Noticing the sadness in Casey's eyes Geoff softened and found himself feeling bad for him.

"I'm sorry Casey. I know none of this is your fault. But, your brothers, if you have it in you to do better with your life, then you need to distance yourself from them before they drag you down", Geoff said. Casey laughed sarcastically at what Geoff was saying. Ever since he had arrived in the Bay people who got close to him all said the same thing. Don't let your brothers pull you down. They talked about Brax and Heath like they knew them. He was beginning to think that maybe they did know them better than him. His whole life he had been left sitting in the dark while his older brothers did things he wished they had never done. Because now he was paying for it for the simple fact that he carried the weight of the same name.

"You don't understand what it means to grow up a Braxton in Mangrove River. You can't just cut ties and walk away. It will follow you everywhere you go. People will judge you without knowing you. You get a reputation just by being born into the family", he said as he looked at Geoff. "I've lived in the shadow of my brothers and the Riverboys my whole life. Not because I chose to but because people expected it of me. Their enemies became my enemies. Their mates became my mates. That's why the Riverboys are a brotherhood. Because once your in it, there's no getting out. Not without consequeces. It's 'Blood and Sand'. Always has been, always will be", Casey finished as he brushed passed Geoff and continued in the direction they had been heading in when they had set out on their quest.

As Heath's foot slammed the accelerator as flat to the ground as it could get, the speed alerted Brax to his younger brothers determination to take advantage of the the daylight and make the most of it. He wasn't going to lose Ruby twice in the space of a few weeks to the scum who had taken her. Taking his eyes off the road, Brax looked at his brother. His mind bubbling with questions. But his main thought about the whole situation remained on what this could mean for both his younger brothers and Ruby. If she was indeed alive, how would this affect their relationships with each other. It was obvious to him that Casey was oblivious to Heath's feelings for the younger Buckton. He needed to know what Heath's intentions were. It was bad enough Casey wasn't talking to him, but if his two younger brothers were to fall out as well, it would create an unspeakable rift in their family.

"So, this thing between you and Ruby, does Casey know?", Brax asked, wanting to know more about what was going on. Heath gazed at his older brother out of the corner of his eye and frowned. "There is no thing between me and Ruby. There never was", he said. If Brax was going to insist on knowing everything about his love life, he might as well be honest. He had already told him the important part. These were minor insignificant details as far as he was concerned. "So what? You've just been waitin' in the wing for Casey to stuff it all up so you could swoop in? Is that what the self defence tactics you were teachin' her were all about. You tryin' to get close to her. Cause I know I'm not Casey's favourite person but I don't think he'd take to kindly to you movin' in on his girl eh?", Brax said as he gazed back out the window.

Feeling himself losing his temper but knowing he couldn't afford to waste time pulling the car over to punch the living dayights out of Brax, he took his hand of the wheel and slammed his fist against the dashboard. "Oi, easy mate", Brax said. Heath turned his head towards. "You don't know what your talkin' about. I never chased after Ruby. I didn't start having feelin's for her until after we started workin' together. And incase you've forgotten "mate", Casey up and left town when his girlfriend needed him to stand up and be a man", Heath shouted as he turned his focus back on the road. Brax stared at Heath. He had never seen his brother so passionate about something and to see him actually stand up to him proved to Brax that he really didn't know what he was talking about.

"At least I was honest with Ruby. I never tried to pretend to be somethin' I'm not. Maybe if you'd had a bit more backbone, Buckton wouldn't have up and left ye", Heath responded. Wanting to get back at his brother for his earlier comments and knowing that the key to pinching a nerve was to bring up Charlie. She was the only woman Brax had ever truly loved and not being able to be with her, was torturing him and Heath knew that. "What's that supposed to mean?", Brax shouted as he glanced over at Heath. "Eh...what's that supposed to mean?", he shouted again, his temper also beginning to rise. "Well lets face it Brax, ye tried to have your cake and eat it too and look what that got ye. You've got a business that's going under, the whole town that ye tried to make respect ye, they want you out, and the woman that you risked it all for would rather throw herself off Stewarts Point than even look at ye", Heath pointed out as he kept his focus on the road.

"So forgive me I'm not that intereted in whatever advice or opinion my big bro has to offer anymore", he finished. Brax scowled at his younger brother, proving to Heath that he had clearly hit a nerve. It pained him to think that for once, the middle Braxton was right. Brax had made a mess of everything. He tried to bring two opposing worlds together only to watch them both crumble around him and now he was suffering the consequences of his actions. Which was why he had been building up to fix everything. He had been creating a plan of action to solve all these problems. And when the time was right he would set it in motion. He need to make things better. For his family and, for Charlie. But for the time being he had to be patient and take one day at a time. And on this particular day, his focus was on finding Ruby.

As Heath pulled up outside the Old Mill pub on the outskirts of Mangrove River, both Braxton brothers spotted a familiar looking blue car parked outside. Climbing out of the truck, they made their way over to the door just in time to see Charlie emerge on her mobile phone. When she hung up, she stepped in her tracks. Startled as she almost collided with them. "What are you doin' here?", Heath asked knowing this wasn't somewhere Charlie usually passed through. Even on duty. Glancing back and forth between Heath and Brax she found her breath stalling when she noticed Brax's gaze never left her. "I, ah, I heard that some of your boys hang around here during the day. I decided to hit them up while they were alone. See if I could pump them for information", she said as she glanced down at her hands noticing a text from Watson informing her that they were currently searching the National Park and that a squad car would be with her as soon as it could.

"And?", Brax asked almost without any hint of emotion. If Charlie wanted nothing to do with him, the least he could do was make it easy for her. Even if it did pain him to so. Heath looked at his brother knowing exactly why he was being so cold but to preoccupied with finding Ruby to stage a Dr. Phil style intervention. "Ah, the kid, Stu, said he heard something about Brodie being seen a couple of times around an old abandonded docking station on the far side of Mangrove River next to the sea port", she explained. Heath glanced between Brax and Charlie and shrugged his shoulders. "So what the hell are we doin' standin' round here. Let's go", he said. Charlie was about to argue with him but Heath had already made his way back to his truck before she could say anything. Turning her attention to Brax, the gazed at each other for a moment. A long lingering moment only broken by Heath's calls for them to hurry.

Suddenly remembering where her priorities were, Charlie turned away and ran to her car. Climbing in and putting on her seatbelt, she turned on the car and stormed out of the parking spot and sped off down the street, heading for the far side of town. Brax watched her take off, his gaze unfaultering until Heath's voice pulled him back to reality. "Oi, come we don't have time for you to stand around lookin' like the Rain Man with that dopey stare", Heath shouted mockingly at his brother as he sat behind the wheel. Turning on his heel, Brax climbed into the passenger side just in time as Heath burst out of the car park gate and thundered down the road in the direction Charlie had taken.

Having been untied after Brodie realised that there was no way for her to escape, Ruby found herself hunched over a table. She was perspiring out of every pore in her body and she had a sharp pain in her abdomen. She hadn't eaten properly in days and it had been hours since her last insulin dosage. She was severely dehydrated and the effect it was having on her diabetes was beginning to take it's toll on her. Turning away from the table, Ruby reached one hand out in front of her to feel around where she was going and kept the other one firmly over her stomach. Trying to ease the discomfort she felt when moving. Only to find that no matter what she did, she couldn't stop the pain. It just seemed to get worse as time ticked by.

Suddenly, she heard the noise of a chair or some other object crashing against a wall from somewhere close by int he building. Listening as carefully as she could, she could hear Brodie shouting at someone but she couldn't quite make out what it was they were saying. Just then she heard footsteps making their way towards the room she was in. Taking a few steps back so she wasn't anywhere near the door she found herself almost tripping over the leg of the chair. Sitting down she bent over to ease the pain she was in. "Damn it", Brodie shouted outside the door before pushing it open, sending it crashing against the wall. Walking over to the chair , he leaned down in front of Ruby and laughed. "It's about to get excitin' Buckton. Hope you stick around long enough for the ride", he said menacingly.

Pulling out a gun from behind his back he placed the barrel of the gun next to Ruby's cheek and traced it along her face. Ruby whimpered at the feeling. Knowing full well what it was that was touching her. Brodie laughed under his breath as the young girl sitting in front of him flinched and snapped her head bag away from the gun. Standing closer to her, Brodie used his knee to part Ruby's legs. "Maybe you and I could have some fun of our own before the show starts", Brodie said with an evil grin as he stroked the inside of Ruby's leg. Fulling repulsed and fearing what he would do if she stayed still, Ruby raised her knee and sent it crashing into Brodie's groin area. "Owwww. Stupid bitch!", he roard as he sent a backhand across her face splitting her lip.

Ruby found herself being forced off the chair and onto the ground. The unbearable pain in her stomach preventing her from getting up. Brodie cupped his hand over his groin as he picked himself off the ground. "You're gonna regret that", he said as he placed the knife behind his back, using his belt to hold it in place. Walking over to the door he slammed it shut and made his way back down stairs. Picking up and open bottle of bourbon he took a swig of it to take his mind off the pain he was in. Walking over to the table he picked up the gun and loaded it up. Preparing himself to go down fighting.

Charlie pulled up slowly outside the dock and glanced out the windscreen at the old station where the sailors used to hang around when they had tied up their boats for the night. It was pretty run down and looked like it had been abandoned for many years. She silently wondered why no one had bothered to check it out the first time around. Reaching into the back seat she opened up the sports bag and removed her gun and ammuntion. After placing a fresh clip in, she placed another in her jacket pocket and the leaned across the passenger seat to open the glove compartment. Removing her police badge she clipped it onto her belt. There was no way she was goning to allow her be arrested in the event that she ended up murdering the man who had kidnapped her daughter.

Just as she was getting out of the car, Heath skidded to a hault next to her. Jumping out of the car both Braxtons prepared themselves for a fight. "If you're goin' in so are we", Brax said once he was in touchin distance of Charlie. She didn't argue with him. She couldn't afford to waste anymore energy. She just shook her head at both of them and then looked at the old building. "Is there a back way into this place", she asked as she looked all around her. Brax nodded, "Yeah, yeah. It's around the side. It'll be better if we split up. Heath can take the back entrance. He's stronger and faster. Brodie will be expectin' me and you. We go in the front way give him what he wants, Heath can take out from behind", he said pumping his hand and fist together.

Although Charlie would prefer it if she were with Heath, deep down she knew Brax was right. If she entered the building with Brax, Heath would have the surprise element over Brodie. They stood a better chance. "Alright let's go", she said. Heath nodded at them and then made a run for the back entrance, slowing down when he was close enough to the building to prevent any noise alerting Brodie to what was going on. Once he signalled that he was okay, Brax and Charlie made their way to the front door. Charlie holding her gun firmly in her grasp. As they opened the door they stepped inside and tried to take in everything. Looking all around them, they checked for signs of life. When suddenly..._bang..._the sound of gun fire sent them bought jumping out of the way landing a few feet apart.

As Charlie stood up, Brax caught sight of a figure holding a gun out of the corner of his eye. The gun aiming for the woman he loved. "Charlie, LOOK OUT", he shouted as he ran towards her and knocked her off her feet just as a bullet whizzed passed them. Charlie turned to find herself engulfed in Brax's arms in a heap on the ground. "You okay?", he asked. She nodded her head and was about to say something when the sound of a scuffle caught their attention. Both turning their heads, they found Heath pinning Brodie up against a wall. His fist colliding against the fallen Riverboys face. Brax stood up pulling Charlie to her feet. "You go look for Ruby, me and Heath will take care of him", he said. The coldness in his eyes giving away nothing of what his intentions were.

But Charlie didn't have time to argue. She needed to find Ruby. Running for the stairs she bounded up them two steps at a time. Bursting through the first door she glanced quickly around the room and found it empty. A mattress and some beer bottles were scattered around the place. Brodie had obviously been hiding out there for a while. Walking along the corridor she checked the next two rooms and found nothing. However in the second room she did find an insulin viral that matched the one found next to the body found in the woods. The body that was thought to have been that of her daughter. Just then she heard a whimper coming from the end of the corridor. Running towards the last door, Charlie forced it open and burst through.

"RUBY", she exclaimed as she crashed to her knees next to her daughter. Her emotions going into overdrive as she burst into tears with relief. Her daughter was alive. However her joy was short lived at Ruby's tears. But not tears of joy. They were tears of excruciating pain. "Rubes, Ruby, what's wrong?", she asked as she check her daughter over. Charlie placed her hand on the side of Ruby's face and stroked her cheek. "I dunno. My, my stomach...it hurts", she said as she kept her hand firmly in its place on her abdomen. Charlie gazed down to where Ruby's hand was. She gently touched it to see how tender it was, only to find that the slightest touch caused Ruby great pain. "Shush, it's okay. It's okay. We're going to get you out of her and get you to a hospital okay", she said.

Just then Heath and Brax came bursting through the door. "Where's Brodie?", Charlie asked, half afraid of what the answer would be to her question. "The knuckle head shot himself. He said somethin' 'bout his part in the game being done and not bein' able to face jail so he pulled the gun on himself", Heath said as he looked down at Ruby. He could feel a sense of relief taking over to find that she was alive. Charlie gazed at Brax to see if what Heath was saying was the truth. "He's tellin' ye the truth Charlie", he said. And she could see it in the warmth in his eyes that he was being honest with her. Gazing back down at Ruby who's death grip on her hand was alerting her to the pain she was in, Charlie looked up at them.

"We need to get her to a hospital now", she said. Brax and Heath didn't even ask why. Heath just gently placed his arms under Ruby and lifted her off the ground. Doing his best not to cause her pain or discomfort. "Heath, you take Ruby and Charlie in your truck. There's more room in the backseat. I'll drive Charlie's car to the hospital", he said as they made their way outside. Heath placed Ruby carefully in the backseat and then held the door open for Charlie to climb in. Jumping into the driver's seat Heath put his foot down on the accelerator and drove as fast as he could to the Northern Districts Hospital. Brax following close behind. "Rubes, stay with me. Rubes", Charlie said as she shook her daughter who appeared to have lost consiousness.

Bursting throught the singing doors of the hospital Charlie called for help as Heath carried a lifeless Ruby in his arms. Just as the nurses placed Ruby on a hospital trolley and brought her into the room next to them, Brax came running up to where his brother and Charlie were standing. Dr. Carter out of the room and walked over to Charlie who had tears in her eyes as she watched the senior doctor in the room intubated Ruby and hooked her up to a breathing machine while the nurses hooked her up to other various tubes and wires. "Can you tell us anything about Ruby's condition before she got here?", he asked wanting to know as much information as he could so they could try eliminate possible reasons for her condition.

"Um, yeah, she was sweating a lot and she had a really bad pain in her stomach. Her ah, her breath, it had a fruity smell to it", she said as the doctor took note of what she was saying. "Okay", he said as he put the pen back in his shirt pocket. "We've had to intubate Ruby to help her breath. She's not doing it on her own which could be linked to her diabetes. We're sending her for some scans and test so we can cover all our basis and make an official diagnosis", he said as he put a comforting hand on Charlie's arm and went back into the room. Charlie and the Braxtons stood and watched as the nurses and took Ruby away down the corridor. All they could do was wait.

Sitting in the waiting room, it had been a couple of hours since they had arrived and Charlie was growing more concerned by the minute. Everyone had been alerted that Ruby had been found and since then, Sid had arrived at the hospital take charge of her care. Heath sat on the opposite side of the room. His head leaning against the cold wall as he waited for news on Ruby. Brax walked into the room carrying three coffees. He offered one to Heath who gladly took it and then he made his way over to Charlie offering her a cup. "I can't. I'm sorry. I just, I can't think about eating or drinking until I know Ruby's alright", she said as she placed her head in her hands. Brax nodded his. "Yeah I get that. But your gonna be no used to Ruby if your passed out on a hospital bed next to her when she wakes eh", he said.

Charlie smiled at him. Grateful for his optimism in the that moment. She needed it. She needed to feel like everything was going to be okay. And Brax understood that. Which made it harder for to turn him away. At least for now. Taking the coffee from him, she thanked him as she took a sip from the cup. Even in a crisis he remembered how she liked her coffee. White with one sugar. She smiled to herself and watched as Brax took a seat next to Heath and took a sip of his own coffee. The room was unbearably quiet and just as Charlie was about to get up and go search for a doctor or nurse, Sid arrived carrying a medical chart under his arm. Standing up all three of them made their way over to him, although Sid was reluctant to atlk in front of the Braxtons, Charlie nodded to indicate that it was okay.

"Ruby suffered a complication of her diabetes. A condition known as ketoacidosis. It happens when diabetic becomes dehydrated and their insulin therapy isn't complied with. To cope, the body burns up all it's fatty acids and produces an acidic ketone in the body which can be life threatening", Sid said looking between the three of them to make them understand how serious the condition was. "Is she going to be alright?", Charlie asked. "Ruby is suffering from a cerebral edema which has caused her to slip into a coma...", Sid said. Before he could finish Charlie let out a sob as the word coma floated through her brain. Brax was about to go and comfort her when Sid placed a hand on Charlie's arm and continued.

"No Charlie. It's okay. You got here just in time. With the right treatments Ruby should come out of the coma in a day or so and she'll be back on her feet in not time", he said. Sighing in relief, all three of them thanked God for watching over Ruby. "We'll have to keep her in the ICU until then but you can sit with her if you like", Sid said. Charlie smiled at Sid and thanked him and followed him out of the room. Before she walked down the corridor, she turned and looked at Brax shooting a small smile. He simply nodded his head and watched her walk away. Thankful that he the woman he cared about, was given back the person she loved the most.

As they arrived outside the intensive care unit, Sid turned to Charlie. "Don't panic when you see all the tubes and wires and all the beeping machines. They're just precautionary. While she's in the coma we'll need to keep her intubated. But's she's a very lucky girl", he said as he held the door opened for Charlie who walked in. Gazing at the sight before her, Charlie burst into tears. Tears of happiness that her baby girl was back in her life. And tears of worry as she glanced at all the wires and tubes that were attached to her daughter. Taking a seat next to the bed, Charlie grabbed a hold of Ruby's hand. Lifting it up she placed a kiss on it and held it tight. "I love you so much", she said. Thankful that the game was family over. Or at least that's what she thought...

**Next Time:**

***Ruby comes around from the coma**

***Charlie talks to Irene about her fears for the future**

***Ruby makes a difficult decision regarding her complicated love life**

***Brax, Heath and Charlie receive a shocking twist in the game that has thrown their lives into turmoil. But what is it?**


	20. Chapter 20

A day had passed since Ruby had been found. The whole community of Summer Bay was finally able to breath a sigh of relief and joy, as their lost daughter had been returned to them. Although she lay in a hospital bed in the ICU, Sid was confident that she would make a full recovery and would awaken from the coma in her own time. Charlie remained by her daughter's side thoughout the night, fighting sleep with all the willpower she could muster up. Unable to allow herself to close her eyes for fear that she would awaken to find it was all just a dream. Though she had little contact with the outside world, apart from visits from Irene and Leah, through their small conversations and the many gifts they had brought with them, she was well aware of the well wishes from friends, and it warmed her heart to think how much they cared for Ruby.

But there was one gift for Ruby that left Charlie feeling conflicted. At one point during the day, Charlie had been forced to leave her daughters bedside for a short time so she could talk with the officers who had been put in charge of the abduction case. When she returned to the ICU, she noticed that a watch had been strapped to the side rail of Ruby's bed. Heath had made a silent visit while Charlie was out and left behind a piece of him so Ruby would know that he had been there. He knew that she would recognise it by touch. Much like she had done during one of their self defence practice sessions. Heath had told Ruby to find something on him that was familiar, that she could associate with him and instantly recognise. The watch was what she chose.

Charlie had argued with herself over whether or not to remove the watch from the rail. She wasn't sure if she wanted Ruby to know Heath had been there. That he had helped to find her. Although he had gone above and beyond to track her down, Charlie was still reluctant to have him be a part of Ruby's life. Heath had proved that, like Brax, he did in fact have a good descent side to him. However there was still a concern over his hot headed nature. The middle Braxton was like a human hand grenade. There was no telling when he would go off on one and Charlie feared that side of him. But ultimately she came to the conclusion that it was Ruby's choice. She had tried to shield her daughter from heartache in the past and she had quickly learned that there is only so much a mother can do.

There comes a time when she must let her child face the heartaches and the tough decisions and learn to deal with them in their own way. If Charlie had her way, her heart would have her wrap Ruby in cotton wool for the rest of her life. But her head was telling her it was time to face the fact that Ruby was growing up, and that relationship heartaches came with the territory, as Charlie herself knew all too well. All she could do, was hope that Ruby made the right decisions, and knew that if she ever needed someone to talk to, Charlie was there for her. And so, the watch remained attached to the rail. Counting down the minuted until Ruby came round from the coma and faced the world again.

Laying in the chair across the room, Charlie had briefly closed her eyes to allow her energy levels to pick back up. However it wasn't a deep sleep, just a peaceful rest that kept her alert to the noised around her. In the moment, she heard the sound of a faint cough. Opening her eyes and adjusting them to the light that had been peering in throught the window, she gazed around until her eyes fell on her daughter. Hearing her cough again, Charlie suddenly became aware that Ruby was waking up and the tube that had been inserted in her throat was causing her discomfort. Practically jumping out of the chair, she dashed across to the bed and stood next to her daughter, placing one hand on Ruby's hair as she stroked it gently trying to calm her down and stop her coughing while her free hand pressed the button to call for a doctor.

"Rubes, Rubes, it's me Charlie. It's okay the tube is helping you breath. Just relax, the doctor will be here in a minute he's going to take it out", she said as she saw her daughter wince when she painfully tried to swallow. Only to find her throat restricted by the lack of room. Ruby tried to feel around for her mother's hand and noticing this, Charlie reached down and cupped it inside her own. Feeling it tremble with weakness and fear as her brain kicked in and she remembered that Ruby couldn't actually see what was going on around her. Leaning forward Charlie brought Ruby's hand up to the pendant around her neck so she could feel the braille on the back of it and know that she was safe. As if by magic, Ruby's trembling hand began to settle as she shifted it up towards Charlie's face and touched her tear stained cheek.

Sid came rushing through the door accompanied by two nurses having been alerted by the call button. Seeing Ruby was awake, Sid kindly asked Charlie to step aside while he worked. "Ruby, it's Sid. I want you to relax for me okay. I'm going to remove the tube for you alright", he said as he put on a pair of latex gloves. While he gently placed a hand around the breathing tube to stop it moving, one of the nurses removed the strap that was latched around Ruby's head and the tube to stop it moving. "Okay, now I'm goong to remove the tube Ruby and when I count to three, I want you to give me one big continuous cough okay. One, two, three", with the end of the count Ruby coughed until the tube was cleared from her airways.

Once Sid had completely removed it, she continued coughing as her throat adjusted. The second nurse walked over to Ruby and gave her and ice chip to suck on to ease the throbbing pain in her throat. Having checked Ruby's levels, Sid gave her an insulin injection and then left the room to allow Charlie so private time with her daughter. Walking back over to Ruby's bedside, she wiped away the tears of joy that had fallen and grabbed a hold of her daughters hand and placing gentle kissed on it before leaning over the bed and placing a long, lingering kiss on Ruby's forehead. The love for her daughter apparent in every gesture she made. "I'm so sorry Rubes. I thought I'd lost you forever", Charlie said as she broke down in tears. Silently cursing herself for wasting so much time believing her daughter to be dead.

As Charlie lowered head and sobbed her heart out, Ruby raised her hand and placed it on top of it. Softly stroking Charlie's hair to ease her pain. "Charlie, it's okay. I don't..._cough_...I don't blame you for what happened", she said as she tried to swallow but found it uncomfortable. Charlie looked up at her daughter and saw the sincerity in her eyes. Which just made her feel worse. After everything Charlie had put Ruby though, all the risk, the danger and everything else that went with her affair with Brax, still her daughter didn't blame her. And it made her realise how lucky she was to have a daughter like Ruby. If everyone else found out about her and Brax, regardless of whatever backlash that came with it, she knew that Ruby would always stand by her side and support her. Even if everyone else abandoned her.

"I love you so much", Charlie said as she stood up and leaned down, kissing Ruby's cheek and wrapping her arms around her. Holding her so tight she never wanted to let her go again. Eventually though, she released her from her grasp and sat down in the seat next to the bed and watched over her daughter, as she slowly faded off to sleep. As she slept peacefully, Charlie stroked her hand and realised she had broken the promise she had made to herself never to allow anything happen to Ruby again. And it caused an aching in her chest. One that could only be healed by the situation they were in being rectified once and for all. The problem was, how? And if it meant making difficult decisions, was Charlie strong enough to make them?

As Ruby remained in a deep slumber, Charlie raised herself from the chair and exited the room, heading down the corridor towards the coffee machine. Just as she was about to push the button, Irene pushed her way through the double doors carrying a small hamper in her arms. When she approached Charlie she smiled at her before pulling her close for a hug. "How ye doin' darl? Is Ruby alright?", Irene asked as they pulled apart. Nodding her head, Charlie slipped her thumbs into her jean pockets. "Yeah, she's fine. She came out of the coma about an hour ago and they've taken her off the ventilator, so it's looking good", she said. Irene breathed a sigh of relief at the news. Happy that the young girl she had grown so close to was alive and well and on the road to recovery.

"Love that is fantastic news", Irene said. Gazing down at the hamper she remember why she had gone to the hospital in the first place. "Look, I ah, brought you some food and coffee from the Diner. Leah packed some of your favourites and some of Ruby's as well. We thought you could use something to keep your strength up", she said as she handed the hamper over to Charlie. Taking a hold of the basket, she thanked the elder woman for her kindness. Turning towards the row of chairs next to the vending machine, they sat down, and Irene could tell that Charlie had a lot on her mind. But rather than push the matter and have her retreat inside herself, she decided to let Charlie be the one to bring it up. Luckily for Irene, Charlie was in a talkative mood.

"When did everything get so complicated?", she said as she stroked her forehead. Irene pursed her lips together wondering how to answer that question. A couple of things came to mind, but instead of laying dumb, she decided to be straight forward with Charlie. "Are you talkin' about you and Brax?", she asked. Charlie's eyes darted straight up from the ground to Irene and she could see it in the elder woman's eyes that she knew the truth and that there was no way she could keep lying. "How did you, how long have...", Irene cut her off. "How long have I known about you and Brax? A while. I came home from work one day and overheard your little chat with Bianca", she said as she looked at the expression on Charlies' face. She looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"How come you never said anything? It's not like I'm naive enough to believe that if this got out there wouldn't be any backlash. It's a small town", Charlie said as she fidgeted with her hands. "Your right it is a small town. And I'm not gonna lie to you darl', I can't say I'm over the moon about it. Especially after everything that's happened poor Ruby", she said and she watched as Charlie lowered her head in recognition of the fact that Irene had every right to be weary. "But I'm also not one for going around and spreading everyone's business all over town. What you and Brax do is your business and I thought it was best I respect that and just let this thing play out instead of causing a ruckus. The Riverboys cause enough trouble as it is", she said. Irene looked down at the ground thinking carefully about what she was about to say and making sure she phrased it as best she could.

"But Charlie, I'd be lying to you and myself if I said I wasn't concerned. This situation is very dangerous. You know if you were a single woman with no responsibilities then I could see why you would want to throw caution to the wind", she said and Charlie could see where this conversation was going. "But the fact is your a mum and that girl in there needs her mum in her life. I'm just afraid if you keep seein' Brax that you're putting your life in serious danger. And not just yours Ruby's too", Irene said as she placed a hand on top of Charlie's. "Love I would hate to see anything happen to either if you because of some brainless gang war. You've already lost Ruby once, do really want to go through that again?", she asked.

Digesting Irene's words, Charlie found herself again thinking about the future. It was something she found herself doing a lot lately. Because if she could picture the future and what she wanted, she could begin to figure out how to deal with the present. Although she would love Brax to be in it, she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that, with the way things were going, it would be possible, or practical. Then she thought about her career and where she wanted it to go. She had been a cop since she left school. It was all she knew and it was something she was very passionate about. Of course she wanted to excel at it and rise through the ranks. But it all came down to one thought. Ruby,

"You know, when I first go together with Brax, my main worry or concern was what it would mean for Ruby. I was blind, somewhere in my mind I knew he was more trouble than he was letting on. But I chose to ignore it. And Ruby got hurt. Badly", she said as he placed a stray piece of hair behind her ear. Irene nodded at what Charlie was saying to indicate that she was listening. "The one person in this world who matters the most to me, and allow it to happen. So I pushed Brax away. The problem is, a cop gets involved with someone like Brax and nobody forgets it. Nobody. Even when we're not together I'm still worrying about what's going to happen next", she said as he wiped away a fallen tear. "I love him. I can't stop myself loving him. I don't know how to and I don't know if want to. But what I do know is, in all this craziness, is that I'm a mum. And I will do anything to keep Ruby safe", she said.

Irene placed her arm around Charlie's shoulders and smiled. "Well I think that's your answer then. You know darl', they teach you a lot of things when you become a parent. But they never teach you about the sacrafices you have to make. Being a parent is hard Charlie. Anyone will tell you that. But if we really want the best for our kids, then we have to prepared to make really tough decisions. We have to be willing to sacrafice things we love so that they know how much we love them", Irene said. Her perils of wisdom sinking into Charlie's already overloaded brain as she thought long and hard about what she had to do next.

A couple of hours had passed since Ruby had first fallen asleep and after awaking from her slumber she found herself deep in thought. While trying to pull herself up in the bed with the help of the side rails, her hand came across the watch Heath had left there. She recognised instantly by her touch and after removing it from the side bearing, she had spent the last half hour feeling it out and thinking long and hard about her love life and her feelings for Casey, Geoff and now Heath. It was a messy situation. One Ruby wasn't sure wanted to deal with right now. But she knew it wouldn't be long before she would be faced with their affections and she needed to igure out in her own heart and her own head what it was she truly wanted.

Ruby was swiftly removed from her thoughts by a knocking at the door and the sound of a handle turning. "Hey, Rubes. It's me Casey", he said as he walked into the room and sat down in the chair next to the bed."It's so good to see", he said with sincerity in warmth is his voice at being reunited with his girlfriend. "I'm, um, I'm glad you stopped by actually. We need to talk", she said a serious tone to her voice. Casey was expecting this. So he cut her off so he could get what he needed to say off his chest. "Rubes, I know I screwed up. Okay I know that. Things got tough and I ran away. And, I shouldn't have done that. I should have been here for you", he said as he held her hand in his. "I just, I got scared. This whole thing with the Riverboys it's getting really intense and I thought, I thought if I got away from here, away from you that you'd be better off without me", he said as he lowered his head.

"But I realise now that I was wrong. Because of all of this. It has nothing to do with us. It's about Brax and Charlie and no matter what we do, we're still going to be affected by it. And that's why I'm here. To tell you that I'm not going anywhere", he said, a small smile creeping across his face as he finished his little rant. Ruby sighed at what Casey had said. Feeling disappointed as she removed her hand from his grasp. "That's the thing Case. You ran off when I needed you, like really needed you. Everything things with your brothers gets out of hand you shut me out. And I don't know if I can take it anymore", she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "Everytime things are going well you always bring it down to the Riverboys and being a Braxton. Well guess what Casey, I'm in this just as deep as you are", she shouted as gestured towards her eyes. "Or haven't you noticed".

Casey lowered his head realising that his heartfelt speech had proven inaffective. All the apologising in the world wasn't going to make Ruby forgive him for shutting her out yet again. His eyes began to well up with unshed tears. "I'm sorry Case, I can't do this anymore. It's over", Ruby said as her own tears began to fall. And that was it. Casey felt his heart break in two at being rejected by the girl who had been his first real love. But he also felt a shade of anger within himself at the thought of Ruby turning to Geoff. "Is this because of Geoff? Because you want to be with him?", he said as he raised his voice. "NO! It has nothing to do with Geoff. I don't want to be with him, I don't want to be with anyone. I just want to be on my own", Ruby shouted back, alerting the nurses to the growing hostility as they peered inside the room. Casey allowed a tear to fall as he realised it was in fact over. "Fine have it your way", he said in harsh tone as he walked out of the room and slammed the door shut.

Charlie saw Casey bolt out of the hospital as she made her way up the corridor. Sensing the anger he was feeling, she quickened her pace and made her way to Ruby's hospital room. "Rubes, what's wrong with Casey?", Charlie asked concerned at the young teens current mood, until she saw the tears streaming down her daughters face. "Hey, what's wrong?", she asked, worry laced though her words as she sat on the edge of the bed and took Ruby's hand in her own. "It's over. Casey and I, we're finished", Ruby managed as she burts into heart wrenching sobs. Charlie pulled her daughter into her arms and held her tight. Stroking her back as she waited patiently for Ruby's tears to stop.

That night, Charlie made her way to Angelo's. Having texted Brax to find out where he was, he had replied instantly letting her know that he and Heath were at the restaurant. Safe in the knowledge that Bianca and April were at the hospital with Ruby, she had finally left and was now pulling up outside the Surf Club. It was late, so the club was pretty much deserted. Making her way into the building and up the stairs, she entered Angelo's and found Brax and Heath sitting at the bar drinking a couple of glasses of bourbon. "G'day Buckton", Heath said. Although surprising both Brax and Charlie, he was sincere in his greeting. Rather than lacing it with his usual sarcasm. "I just thought I'd let you know that Ruby's come round from the coma", she said rubbing her hands against the front of her jeans.

Both Braxton brothers acknowledged the news with a simple nod. Quiet but affective. "That's ah, that's good to hear", Brax said knowing Charlie would prefer some sort of verbal response. Although he played it cool, as usual. Showing little emotion. Allowing the truth in his eyes to say more than his words ever good. "Yeah, that's great news", Heath responded as she shot a quick awkward smile at Charlie. She smiled back at him, knowing that the news meant more to him than he was letting on. Emphasised by the bare wrist Heath was flashing, where his watch used to take pride of place. "You eh, you want a drink?", Brax said as he gestured towards the bar. Charlie turned to him and shook her head, explaining that she wasn't hanging around. "No, I have to get back to Ruby. I just wanted to thank you. Both of you, for helping me take down Brodie. And find Ruby", she said.

Brax couldn't hide the fact that he was desperate to talk to Charlie. But with Heath there, he knew he couldnt say to her what it was he wanted to say. Charlie meanwhile, was also disappointed that she couldn't have one on one time with Brax to discuss what all this would mean for them and their chances of being together. Heath on the other hand walked around the counter and pulled out a bottle of champagne from the fridge and Brax and Charlie looked at him curiously. "What? Can't have a celebration without champers", he joked. Everyone well aware that Heath wasn't the type of classy guy who drank champagne on any occassion. "Come on. Brodes is gone. We got Ruby and the rest of the boys who had been helpin' him have up and left town", he said. Brax and Charlie both laughed and then gave in to Heaths idea.

Picking up three champagne glasses, he placed them on the counter and then popped the cork, before pouring the champagne into three glasses. Each of them picked up a glass and clinked them together. While Brax and Charlie took a sip from their glasses, Heath lowered his in one go. Shaking his head in disgust as he put the glass down. "Man this stuff sucks! If I have a fancy party we'll be celebratin' with bourbon", he said. Just as the three of them were warming up to each other's company, a noise downstairs alerted them to company. "Stay here", Brax said as he headed for the exit and down the stairs. As he reached the Surf Club, he noticed that the place was empty, except for a small brown package sitting on the pool table. Taking it into his hand, he went back upstairs.

"Who was it?", Heath asked as he and Charlie remained seated at the bar. Brax shook his head. "Dunno. But whoever it was left us a little pressie", he said as he raised the package so they would see it. "Well don't keep us waitin' come on man open it", Heath said as he took a swig of bourbon from his glass. Brax untied the string from around the package and the removed the wrapping. Opening the box, he was rendered motionless as he peered inside at the contents. His facial expression giving nothing away. "Brax, what is it?", Charlie asked, the fear very much present in her voice. Brax placed the box on the counter and Heath and Charlie reached inside and looked at their hands as they saw the photgraphs they were nw clutching.

"Oh my God!", Charlie said as she looked closely at them. They were photographs of Heath, Brax, Charlie, Casey and Ruby. They were taken from a distance while they went bout their day to day business. But what was most shocking was in every photo, their heads were drawn over with a red target mark. As Charlie and Heath finished flicking through them they looked at Brax who was holding a piece of paper and reading the contents of it very carefully. They noticed the look of frustration, worry and anger in his eyes. It was the same look he got when he realised that whatever trouble he thought he had taken care of, was still lurking about.

"All this time, we thought Brodie was pullin' the strings", he said as she lowered the note to his side and gazed up at the heavens. Heath looked at him. "What are ye talkin' about?", he asked as he saw Charlie's eyes welling up with tears. Already aware that Brax was about to deliver a crushing blow that had the potential to turn their worlds back on their head again. Lifting the note back up so he could read it out loud Brax skipped passed all the idle nonsense and went straight for the last line. "Always helps to have an ace in the hole. Your pal, Mick". With that Brax crumpled up the note and tossed it away. His temper rising. Charlie sat there stunned into silence. She should have known it was all too good to be true. Suddenly all her thoughts about the future began to fade and she knew she needed to change that. She had to do what was best for herself and for Ruby. But what?

**Next Time:**

***Charlie brings Ruby comes home from the hospital and after a serious heart to heart, they think about their options. But are they prepared to leave the Bay for their own safety?**


End file.
